


Innocence

by TheLastSonata



Series: The Dissonance Trilogy [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Lesbian Character, Romance, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-05
Updated: 2015-12-02
Packaged: 2018-04-13 03:31:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 156,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4506099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLastSonata/pseuds/TheLastSonata
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The consequences of the mission to Mountain Glenn stretch far beyond the civilian casualties in Vale. The collective failure has taken its toll on all the members of team RWBY and with the tournament fast approaching and Cinder still at large, they have no time to wallow in their misery.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Weiss dropped into the train car, knees bending to absorb the impact. It appeared to be like any number of the numerous cargo freighters she had been dragged to see as a child. Only this one would kill her if they didn't manage to stop it.

"I guess this is what we trained for," Yang said.

Weiss drew the Dust cartridge she had modified for Blake out of her pocket. "Here, this should help you."

After their discussion last night, Weiss had lain awake to the sound of gentle snores. What Blake said had struck a chord with her. So often in her life she had wanted to run away from her fears, her father, but she was a Schnee and was bound by chains stronger than steel.

If she had given into her desire, she never would have attended Beacon, never met her teammates, people who actually liked her for who she was. They were her friends. Before Beacon that concept had been as foreign to her as the life of the lowliest Faunus. The only reason she had found the unimaginable was because she didn't run. Blake deserved the same chance.

So as Blake slept, Weiss had worked on modifying a spare magazine for Gambol Shroud. People may have been confusing to her, but Dust was her speciality. Blake had an external Semblance and that meant she could use her Shadows as a matrix into which Dust could be infused. Allowing her to use her power to do something other than run. To face her challenges and overcome them.

Weiss' throat tightened as she tried to find the words to explain the reasoning behind the gesture but, as was always the case, she was unable to convey the feelings she had always been taught were unnecessary. Blake shot her a small smile of thanks, and perhaps understanding, as their hands briefly grazed each other before sliding the cartridge into her weapon. They all took off at a run.

A girl dropped down in front of them. The temperature jumped. Yang's muscles stood out against her skin, her gaze fixed on the smirk on the shorter girl’s lips.

Yang took a step forward. "You two go on ahead, this one's mine."

They’d always been taught not to split up, but they had their objective and were required to complete it. No matter what. Anyway they had all been regaled to exactly what would happen if Yang saw the _midget_ again.

With time critical, she and Blake used the window that Yang provided them to slip past their aggressor. The next few carriages were empty, save the remnants indicative of life: food wrappers, canteens, books. The possessions of those who had opposed them. Possessions that would never be reclaimed.

A childhood of strife and pain had stripped Weiss of any empathy for the White Fang. It was fitting that they reaped what they attempted to sow. Unlike the more childish members of her team, she had grown up surrounded by war. Lived in fear of what would happen to her. Fear which had turned to hatred. She had no moral qualms with killing those that would strike out against her, her friends, or her family.

The fact that she was able to follow this ethical chain of thoughts while simultaneously sprinting full tilt after Blake, dodging obstacles she barely registered, surprised her. She shook her head, clearing it. As she helped Blake to pull another hatch open, a sinister scraping flitted through the gap.

In the middle of the car stood one of the vermin, heavily built and wearing one of those nightmarish masks, a chainsaw taller than she was dragging along the floor. She and Blake exchanged a glance, and Weiss knew what she had to do. "You go on ahead."

"Got it." Blake gave her a small nod.

Weiss leapt in, drawing the attack before spring backwards. As she knew she would, Blake blocked the swing that would have killed her. It was still unbelievable to her that she was willing to put her life in the hands of a Faunus. She surged forward, making use of the opening that Blake gave her, landing several hits that knocked the animal to the floor.

Her opponent rose with a menacing laugh. "Finally, I get to kill a Schnee."

Good, he recognised her, he would find out she was no longer a little girl huddling in the corner. No she was a Schnee. She’d had the best teachers money could buy. She’d had built Myrtenaster herself and pushed herself relentlessly, training for this opportunity. She adjusted her footing, shifting her centre of balance just as her instructor had taught her. Myrtenaster tip pointed towards the animal she was going to put down.

He ran towards her, the great blade slashing down. A brilliant blue reflected from the walls as it ground against her shield. Weiss released her control on the Dust, allowing its rampant energy to push her opponent back. She redirected his next strike into the ground, knowing she would never win in a straight conflict of strength, and thrust forwards in the gap.

Weiss flipped over his reverse swing. Flitting around him like a gust of wind, she continued to strike. She was quicker. A glyph aided Weiss as she leapt to the roof and sprang off it. She hit the floor in a roll, carrying her momentum and put all of it into her next attack. Her opponent’s breath left his chest in a rush as he was slammed into the floor once more.

The blood pounding in Weiss' ears was a symptom of the adrenaline coursing through her system. She loved duelling, and that her life rested on every kiss of their weapons only increased the fidelity of the world around her.

Through the slits in his mask she could see that his eyes had narrowed as he approached her more cautiously. A smile of satisfaction found its way onto her features. He had expected to kill one of the spoilt Schnee girls, but had instead found her. A warrior who had honed her body to perfection. It was time to finish this.

A glyph materialised below her and as she infused it with yellow Dust. Seconds stretched into days. The beads of sweat dripping from her opponent hung in mid-air. Their inevitable descent halted by the power of the mineral that had allowed humanity to flourish on a planet that resented them.

In the embrace of her own private bubble of time, Weiss became a white blur as she ran forward, casting more glyphs with her right hand. Marvelling in the frozen world around her, she leapt from the floor and slashed at her opponent who was only now beginning to react to her attack.

She altered the attraction of a glyph to hold her in place, before shooting herself at him again. Bouncing between her glyphs she juggled him in the air, every strike diminishing his aura, before casting him to the floor. She prepared to deliver the final strike. Pain ripped through her, white hot magma shredded her nerves as the last of the yellow Dust in Myrtenaster was consumed.

Her mind still worked with lightning speed, sending signals to muscles that were now unable to act upon them. The conflicting messages caused her body to spasm. Horrified, she was suspended in the air, gravity only just beginning to overcome her inertia. His hand slowly, ever so slowly, crawled through the space between them. Desperately she tried to dodge, to leap back, to do _anything,_ but she was a passenger in her inert body. The sickly smell of his sweat engulfed her as the world went dark.

Weiss' eyes shot open, her panicked breaths coming in short sharp bursts. She thrashed in her bed, trying to escape the phantom assailing her. Slowly her conscious mind began to take over. She forced herself to slow her breathing. Her eyes focused on a single point on the bottom of Ruby's bed. It had been a week since their mission, the fight on the train and the terrible toll the Grimm had taken on Vale. A week of sleepless nights and the dread of what was waiting for her when she closed her eyes.

Concentrating on Yang's rhythmic snores, she brought her pulse down to its normal rate. The only solace available was that the noises meant she had not cried out this time. Last time she’d snapped at Ruby’s concern. She’d wanted to apologise, but hadn’t found the words. If she’d learned anything from her childhood, this was something she had to deal with herself.

Rolling over she looked at her clock, _4:23_. She sighed softly, despite the leaden weights dragging her eyelids down, lying in bed waiting for sleep to embrace her again was hopeless. That was enough reason to get up even without what she knew would find her if she closed her eyes once more. Ignoring the chill of the air, she swung her bare legs from the bed and moved to the bathroom.

Keeping the light low, she splashed cold water on her face. Her reflection stared back at her. At gatherings people had always told her she was beautiful, but she was unable to see it. The thick lines beneath her eyes contrasted horribly with her pale skin, and of course, the hated scar. A monument to her ugliness. No, the compliments she received were to gain favour with her father. Though, if that was there desire, they’d picked the wrong target for their observations. A tear slipped free and she crushed that particular train of thought.

A cold moistness nudged her ankle. Zwei looked up at her with his wide eyes. She slid down the wall ̶ ̶ not concerned with decorum as her nightgown rode up her legs ̶ ̶ and pulled him to her chest. Hugging him tightly, she savoured the heat emitted by his small frame. When he’d first arrived, she had held out for just a few seconds before he had won her over. In truth she hadn't stood a chance; she had always wanted a dog, a cat, something to fill the aching loneliness within her. Winter hadn't, so that was that.

"Did I wake you?" Zwei wagged his tail in confirmation. "I'm sorry. I've just been having some trouble sleeping." There was safety in confiding in Zwei. He was someone who wouldn't betray her trust. Wouldn't use her weaknesses to their advantage. It was sad that the only person she trusted was one who was physically unable to betray her confidence. She wished she felt comfortable talking to her teammates, but a lifetime of masks made it a futile desire. She closed her eyes trying to lose herself in the comforting moment, where all her problems couldn’t haunt her.

The swipe of a tongue on her face caused her to emit a most unrefined squeak. She glared down at the culprit who looked back, a grin on his face. She was glad no one else was awake to hear that. Otherwise she would have been forced to spend the rest of the morning disposing of bodies. The cold tiles leaching heat from her contrasted against the bundle of wriggling warmth on her chest, and she steeled herself for what she knew she had to do.

"I've have to go and train." Depositing Zwei to the floor, he gave a soft bark. A dog shouldn’t have been able to appear that dissaproving. "Don't look at me like that. I've got to. I'm not good enough. I saw that on the train." She paused. "After it all happened, I made a joke about how we don't need to train for the tournament, but I do. The others all won their fights. I was the only one who wasn't strong enough. I lost against one of the vermin who I have spent my entire life preparing to fight.

“I'm not going to do that again, I've been lazy since I got to Beacon. I haven't worked hard enough. If my father found out what happened, he would pull me out of Beacon. I like it here. Beacon allows me to become the person that _I_ want to be. I had to fight so hard to get here and I'm not going to sacrifice that.” Zwei's pathetic whimpers didn't affect her resolve as the darkness outside the dormitory swallowed her.

* * *

 

Sunlight clawed against Ruby's eyelids. Moaning she rolled onto her side, willing herself to fall back into the blissful pit of unconsciousness. However, the sun had done its work and sleep was a rapidly fading memory. The warmth of the bed seeped into her muscles. Her alarm clock taunted her. No sane person would be awake at this time.

She lay there exasperated, pulling her covers tighter to herself, cocooning her body. A nagging materialised in her bladder, urging her to leave her haven. In the attempt to find a distraction the Vytal tournament sprung to her thoughts. She had fought competitively before at Signal, but that was nothing in comparison to the excitement of fighting in front of thousands of screaming people. Imaginary fights and triumphs flitted through her mind, before she was rudely interrupted by a more pressing feeling.

"Damn." Losing her battle she threw off her covers, shivering as the cold air ambushed her. Swinging off the bed, she landed lightly on the floor. The bed rocked on its ropes. She froze. The last time that had happened Weiss had shouted at her. No complaints came. Her gaze fell on Weiss' perfectly made bed. If not for the fact she had stayed awake until she heard Weiss enter the dormitory late last night, she would have been worried that Weiss hadn't gone to bed at all.

"She's was gone when I woke up." Blake sat in her bed, a single arm protruding from her quilt clutching a book. Her amber eyes searched Ruby's. "That's every morning this week, and we barely see her in the day as it is. It's not healthy."

The pristine sheets on Weiss' bed crumpled as Ruby sank onto them. "I know, but every time I try and mention it she always has somewhere she desperately needs to be. She can barely keep her eyes open in lectures. She hardly eats anything, and that's when she bothers to turn up to meals at all. I just don't know how to talk to her."

"Ruby, I know she's not the… most approachable person in the world, but you're her partner. She came back for you in the Emerald Forest. You've spent so much time training together, studying together." Blake’s face fell. "You're the only one she's opened up to, however slightly it may have been. You're probably the only one she considers her friend in the entire school. If you can't get her to talk to you, she'll just suffer in silence."

Blake had never discussed this with her. "You don't like her?"

"No I do. She's so different from what I was taught to expect from a Schnee and I truly believe she will try and change the SDC for the better. I consider myself her friend, but there's all that history between us. I'm not entirely sure she trusts me. No matter what she's said. Coupled with how self-contained she is, I don't know whether she would call me a friend, or merely a teammate. It's the same with Yang. The only time Weiss has ever actually talked to us was in Mountain Glenn when we were exhausted and Oobleck had spent all day barraging us with questions. She just isn't someone who confides in people."

"She's right Ruby." Yang blinked the sleep from her eyes. "You're the one she feels closest to, even if she attempts not to show it. If she's going to rely on anyone for support, it will be you and you've got to make sure you're there for her."

Ruby sat, still hugging herself, digesting what they had discussed. It was true that Weiss would always choose to sit next to her over anyone else. She thought back to the night where she had awoken to Weiss standing by her bedside, a cup in her hand and her subsequent promise to be the best teammate she could be. Guilt surged up inside Ruby. She had failed her side of the bargain. She made a solemn oath to herself to get to the bottom of whatever was haunting Weiss by the end of the day.

Yang dropped to the floor heading to the bathroom. A now very immediate problem made itself known inside of Ruby. Red petals swirled in the air, coating the room, as the bathroom door slammed in Yang's face.

* * *

 

The cafeteria was still quiet by the time, the three of them walked in. Yang was still less than happy about Ruby's inappropriate use of her Semblance and had threatened to _re-educate_ her. The threat dredged up terrible memories from when she had first discovered her ability. Yang had quickly gone from pride to annoyance as Ruby used it at every opportunity. The resulting ban on sugar had almost driven her to the edge of insanity.

Sunlight streamed in through the windows spaced along the walls and as she strolled past the huge pillars. Beacon really was awesome. Even the food fight had only resulted in a weeks' worth of detention, much to Weiss' indignation ̶ ̶ s _he wasn't the one who had started it, she was the victim here_ ̶ ̶ rather than expulsion. They grabbed their food before looking around. Weiss sat alone in the corner.

As Ruby neared, her initial optimism sparked by the fact that Weiss was in the room where you consumed food withered. Weiss merely held a coffee cup and stared off into the distance.

Weiss jumped as Yang dropped her tray on the table. "Hey Ice Queen, we missed you this morning."

Weiss grimaced at the hated nickname. "I just fancied a walk through the grounds before lessons. Is that ok with you?"

Sensing the rising tension Ruby sought to intercede, an idea springing to her mind. "Of course it is. You know, I think the gardens are beautiful this time of year, with all the flowers freshly opened, the riot of colour and the scents are incredible. So… do you think I could come with you? If you decide to go for a walk again that is?"

Weiss mouth opened a fraction. "Umm… no." Her eyes roved frantically. "I like to be alone." Ruby bit back her hurt at the rejection.

"Have you eaten anything today Weiss?" Blake asked.

Weiss' eyes darted between them, only now realising she was trapped. "No… I'm not hungry." She suppressed a shudder at how pathetic that sounded.

"Weiss." Blake's voice cracked with worry. "I didn't see you at dinner yesterday or breakfast. You must be starving." She took the apple she had picked especially for this ̶ ̶ knowing small steps were needed ̶ ̶ and held it out towards her friend. "Eat this, please, for us."

Weiss looked from the apple to Blake, before glancing at those seated either side of her. Guilt churned in her stomach. She hadn't meant to concern them. Her lack of an appetite stemmed from other _demons_. Ones she had fought in the past and was merely a side effect of all that was warring within her. She reached out and grasped the apple, noticing the hint of hope that flitted across Blake's face. The thought of food almost made her gag but, for her teammates, she took a bite. It tasted rancid. At this small victory the others smiled. For them Weiss resolved to finish the entire apple, despite the bile rising up her throat.

The hurdle crossed the others started on their meals, chatting good-naturedly and making sure to include Weiss frequently. Weiss had finally defeated the challenge in front of her, and placed the offending apple core on Ruby's tray, when Yang spoke.

"So Weiss, when are you seeing Neptune again? I'm not surprised you went for him he's so dreamy, and he's so talented as well." Yang tried to keep the conversation pleasant, hiding her actual feelings about Weiss' boyfriend.

An expression passed across Weiss' face that Ruby couldn't catch before she smiled. "We said we'd meet in Vale on Saturday. We'll probably see a film or something."

"I've got an idea," Ruby said, bouncing in her seat. "We can all go down in the morning and spend time together as a team before your date. I'll even let you take me clothes shopping." Ruby grinned as she played her trump card.

Weiss looked between them, thinking of the pain she had inadvertently caused them balanced against all the hours that she could be training. In the end it was Ruby's puppy dog expression which won the day. "Ok, but you have to get at least three outfits. The lack of diversity in your wardrobe is a disgrace."

"Says the girl who always wears white," Yang said in a whisper she knew only Blake would hear.

Meanwhile, Ruby had swamped her partner in a hug which Weiss endured for a steady count of three before pushing her off. Weiss' mood seemed to have improved in the time they had been talking and Yang took a risk. "So Weiss, where have you been going in the mornings?"

Weiss stood. "I told you," her tone was frosty, the good natured atmosphere evaporating like mist before the sun. "We have to get to class." She hurried off, missing the worried exchange of glances behind her.

 

The baritone drone of Professor Port regaling the class about the time he had single-handedly saved a village from a pack of Ursai, coupled with the warm temperature, had sapped the will to learn from all but the most arduous students.

Ruby had long since given up on trying to decipher the message within his convoluted story and had resorted to doodling on a scrap of paper. The cessation of the scratching of Weiss' pen flying over her notepad caused Ruby to glance at her partner's notes. A line lay across Weiss' script, ruining the perfectly ordered work. Her hand lay limp around her pen, following the arm up, Ruby's gaze fell on the heiresses' closed eyes. Ruby had never known Weiss to show anything other than studious attention even if she was tired. So that she was now sleeping in class, was only another thing to add to her list of worries.

Leaning over she placed a hand on Weiss' side, making sure not to attract Port's attention. She shook her gently and was rewarded as cerulean eyes cracked open. Weiss looked round blearily, before bolting upright. The scratching began again with renewed fury, a blush rising in her pale cheeks.

Ruby tore off a bit of paper and wrote a quick message. She had quickly learnt that Weiss did not appreciate any attempts at verbal communication while in class. She slid the note across the desk. _Are you ok?_

Weiss read the note before shooting her a glare. It was somewhat mollified by the brilliant scarlet that was flooding through her face. She pushed the paper back before returning to her notebook.

Determined to persevere, Ruby tried again. _It's just I've never seen you sleep in class before. I'm worried about you._

Weiss pressed her lips together hard enough for the colour to vanish from them and she scribbled on the paper. _I wasn't sleeping. I was just trying to visualise the scene. Now be quiet and take notes!_ The conversation was obviously over and Weiss rebutted any of Ruby's attempts to restart it.

When they were dismissed Weiss slipped away almost instantly. Ruby shoved her things haphazardly into her backpack and weaved between the other students to catch up. On the path to the library Ruby touched Weiss' arm. The angry look which had spawned at the invasion of her personal space lessened as she saw Ruby.

"Weiss, the cafeterias that way." She gestured and put on her best puppy dog expression. _It had worked this morning_.

Grimacing slightly Weiss replied. "Oh, I wasn't looking where I was going." She turned around.

Ruby hurried after her, warmth in her chest. Weiss had agreed without an argument. Her happiness was only buoyed when she selected a small salad and took a seat at their usual table. Ruby stayed silent throughout most of the meal, letting Nora do the majority of the talking.

As Weiss excused herself, her meal half finished, Ruby remained sitting, trying to think of way to get to the bottom of the problem. Any direct confrontation only solicited an angry response and an immediate end to the conversation. She needed to find out what Weiss was doing when she disappeared without asking her. The only, and slightly uncomfortable, solution she could come up with was to follow Weiss when she vanished in the evening.

* * *

 

After dinner in which Weiss had barely touched her meal again, despite the many reproaching looks from her teammates, she split from the group with an excuse saying she needed to see Doctor Oobleck. Ruby waved her goodbye and continued on around the corner before doubling back. Instead of heading towards his office, Weiss had taken the path towards the locker rooms. Ruby began to get an inkling of just what Weiss had been doing every evening.

Red really wasn't a good colour when trying to be inconspicuous, and Ruby was left wishing she’d given her cloak to Yang. Luckily, pristine white was even more visible through the myriad of trees. Ruby continued to dart silently between the foliage, tracking her prey before she came to a stop at the edge of a clearing. Myrtenaster began to flash in the setting sun. Ruby settled down to watch the scene before her.

Since they had spent more time together, she had come to love the way Weiss fought. A scythe wielder was forced to move in large patterns, always conserving momentum before landing the final blow. With a blade as large as Crescent Rose's, precision, for the most part, was unnecessary. A hit anywhere along its length carried tremendous force.

A rapier is different. Being so light, so fragile, precision was king. The lack of weight was a major limitation. The wielder didn’t have enough momentum behind the strike to pierce the armoured plates of a Grimm, so instead had to find vulnerable points and drive into them. To have that finesse in combat, to be able to analyse and hit the smallest weak points, was something Ruby knew she struggled with. Weiss made it look so easy. Despite her jealousy, she was so proud of her friend.

As the shadows lengthened, Weiss increased the ferocity of her exercise, bringing her Semblance into play. Watching Weiss bounce between glyphs Ruby continued to compare their fighting styles. It wasn't often she could simply watch Weiss fight and was struck by how graceful Weiss was. Ruby's style was brutal. She would move in straight lines between opponents, ripping into them using her innate speed. Weiss made combat look like a choreographed routine. She leapt through the field, bouncing from her glyphs, flipping in the air, Myrtenaster lashing out. Slaying the invisible enemies assailing her. Handspringing over their blades, always in perfect balance and with perfect poise, her long white hair trailing after her. It was sad that such a beautiful dance should be a prelude to death and not a celebration of life.

Orange light began to permeate across the sky and Ruby could see Weiss tiring. She prepared to reveal herself when Weiss’ practice came to a close and tried to think of what she could say. But Weiss didn't stop. She continued fighting, sweat pouring from her shaking body. The sun disappeared and the cracked moon rose, giving the clearing an ethereal feel, perfectly suiting the girl in white within it.

The light emanating from the Glyphs was even more prominent in the dark. Ruby could barely swallow her shock. She’d had no idea that Weiss had been pushing herself this hard and couldn't fathom what was driving her to work her body to this extent. Numb legs resisting Ruby rose, unable to bear it anymore.

"Weiss!" Her cry didn't have the expected effect. Weiss, startled, lost her rhythm and landed heavily with a sharp cry.

Darting forward Ruby blurted out an apology. "God Weiss, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I… I wasn't thinking." She fell to her knees beside injured girl.

"You idiot! What the hell were you doing?" Weiss clutched her ankle, Pain in her eyes. Her entire body shook, but from the injury or the exertion Ruby couldn't tell.

Ruby replied rapidly, the words barely discernible. "I was watching and you looked tired so I thought we should head back to Beacon but then you fell and I didn't mean for this to happen I just wanted to help." She took a few calming breaths, forcing herself to speak more slowly. "I need to take a look at your leg."

Weiss nodded her assent, gritting her teeth. Ruby gently unzipped Weiss' boot and slipped it off, trying her best to ignore the pitiful noises elicited from her friend. Every whimper shook her. Seeing someone in pain was the thing she hated most in the world. She was a huntress able to slay any foe, but what good was a scythe against anguish?

Finally, she was able to place the offending item aside and glanced at Weiss' slender ankle. The pale skin was unblemished. She breathed out a sigh of relief. It most likely wasn't broken. Gingerly she reached out, exploring the velvety flesh with her fingertips, trying to ascertain if there was any damage.

She must have taken longer than she realised as Weiss snapped, "That's enough dolt."

Withdrawing her hand she gave her prognosis. “I don't think it's broken. It's probably just sprained, but I don't want to attempt to move you until your aura has had a chance to try and stabilise it.” Weiss just nodded, her body shaking, once again Ruby tried to work out the reason why her partner was trembling, _it shouldn't hurt that much_.

Then she realised Weiss was sitting on the ground, in the middle of the night, in a thin dress, with a layer of sweat siphoning the heat from her body. Ruby almost hit herself, keeping the patient warm was one of the most basic things she had been taught about first aid and she’d completely forgotten it.

Suddenly thankful that she still had her scarlet cloak, she undid the clasps and slid it around Weiss' slender shoulders, eliciting a sharp breath. Concentrating on the next step of the treatment she looked round the clearing for something she could use to elevate Weiss' leg. Coming up empty, she took off her blazer and wrapped it around Weiss' boot, before gently placing it under her patient's ankle.

The moon had robbed the air of its warmth and she wrapped her arms around herself, bouncing on the spot. Nothing left to do but wait.

"You dolt." Weiss' soft exclamation brushed against her ears as she saw Weiss holding the cloak open. _An invitation_.

Ruby silently accepted the unexpected gift, snuggling up against Weiss' thin frame. A bony arm wrapped around her, sealing their shared heat in. Pressed this tightly up against Weiss she could smell the sharp tang of her exertion, intermingled with the faint lavender scent emanating from the silky hair that had fallen over her. She could sense Weiss' heartbeat as it fluttered against her side. The muscle still labouring frantically after its owner's antics. She could feel every hill and valley of Weiss’ ribcage. The difference in topography far more pronounced than it should have been.

"Weiss…" She said, her voice barely containing her sorrow. "You need to eat more. I'm worried about you. We all are."

Weiss was silent for a time, observing the stars above them, and when she spoke it was in a barely audible whisper. "I know." Ruby waited for her to speak in her own time. "It's just, something that happens. I… I just get so fixed on something I can't think about anything else, and when I look at food, I think about what a waste of time it is. How many better things I could be doing. There's no point even trying to eat, just the sight of it makes me feel sick, the smell…" A ghost of a shudder ran through her. "Even if I manage to eat something I can barely keep it down. I know you're just looking out for me but… I just can't."

Ruby put her arm around her, pulling her close, and thought carefully before speaking. "Is that why you're doing all this extra training? You're fixated on the tournament." She tried to be kind and told Weiss what she was thinking about when she was watching her train. "You don't need to Weiss. I was watching you. I couldn't get over how graceful you are, how good. You're already exceptional."

As soon as she spoke she knew it was the wrong thing to say. Weiss' head snapped round, anger in her eyes. "Exceptional. Is that why I failed on the last mission? Everyone did their job apart from me. You won your fight. Yang won her fight. Blake won hers. What did I do? I lost. To that vermin. One of the animals I have been training my entire life to defeat." Her tirade gaining momentum, she attempted to pull away from Ruby. "I would have been killed if it wasn't for Blake. Every time I go to sleep I relive my mistakes, I see how I failed. How I caused us all to fail. Everything that happened is entirely down to me. It's all my fault."

"It's not your fault, it's all of ours. We all failed. If I hadn't got captured we would have had a better plan. You wouldn't have had to come charging in. It wasn't down to you. You don't need to torture yourself over this."

Weiss shook her head. "If I was stronger Blake wouldn't have had to save me. We could have stopped that train. It comes solely down to me not being good enough. Even Ozpin knew. He made you the leader, not me. He could see it straight away. He knew I was a failure. Someone who couldn't be trusted with positions of responsibility. He knew I would let everybody down. Just as I always do. That I would mess it up. He probably regrets accepting my application now he's seen how useless I am." Tears began to flow from her eyes.

Ruby didn't know what to say as Weiss exposed her inner thoughts that were usually kept strictly under lock and key. She always seemed so assured, so confident. To learn what was hidden behind her neutral smile shocked Ruby. She never would have guessed Weiss was so conflicted, so troubled, so… _broken_.

She did the only thing she could do and gathered Weiss in her arms, breathing softly into her partner's ear, repeating what Yang had done to comfort her so often in the past. The bright moonlight reflected in the tears sliding down Weiss' face. Tentatively Ruby stroked her thumb over the pale flesh wiping the moisture away.

Weiss pulled her legs inside the cloak, hugging them, the pain of her ankle forgotten under the torrent of emotional anguish ripping through her. Beginning to speak more softly, hurt saturating her voice, she continued. "Do you know what would happen if my father found out that I lost to one of those animals?" Ruby shook her head. "He would pull me out of Beacon for bringing shame to the family. Again. As I always do. He didn't want me to come here in the first place. He wanted for me to take a job in Atlas. Somewhere where he didn't have to worry about me shaming him. Where I could just quietly disappear. Where he could forget the disappointment he sired. I had to work so hard to come here. I just wanted to get away from him, from Winter. And…" her body shuddered. "And I like it here. I like Beacon. I like not having to see him. See the disgust in his eyes. For the first time in my life, people…" Her voice caught in her throat, the tears streaming down her face in earnest. "People like me, actually like me. I actually have friends. And he would rip that away from me in a heartbeat. I can't let that happen. I can't go back there. I've got to train harder, get better, not be the disappointment again. I've got to be like Winter. You know about her?"

Tracing circles on Weiss' back as her chest heaved Ruby answered hesitantly. "She's your sister?"

In truth she couldn't remember, the only time Weiss had ever discussed her feelings was when she was arguing with Blake. She had never imagined that Weiss would be in this position, tears pouring from her eyes as she spilled her soul. The only information she knew about Weiss' life back in Atlas was gained from searches online.

"My twin sister. My perfect, beautiful, _better than me in every way,_ twin sister. My father has never been hesitant in making his preference known. Since I was old enough to understand him I knew that I had to be better, that I was a disgrace. I had to try so hard to do anything. I would spend every hour practising, forsaking sleep, and it was never enough. Winter could always do it better with less effort. Why did I even bother trying? I should know I'm useless." Ruby's heart hammered in her chest, anger filling her veins for a man she had never met.

"Winter was always beautiful, radiant, whereas I was the onlooker in the corner. Complimented only if they couldn't get near Winter. That's when I started having trouble eating. I just thought, maybe, someone might notice me. They never did. I don't even think my father cared I was wasting away before his eyes. He never said anything. In all honestly I think he would have viewed it as a problem solved.

“It was only when one of the staff, someone who didn't care about my father, found out that I started eating again. He sat me down and tried to explain what I was doing to my body. That I couldn't let my father beat me like that." A sad smile flitted over her face. "He even persuaded my father to allow me to take combat lessons and I was good. For the first time in my life I was better than Winter. I excelled. I enjoyed it. It made me happy. So my father tried to take it away, because he hated the idea that I had the slightest bit of solace from the life he desired me to have."

Ruby was struggling to absorb all the emotions that were cascading from Weiss. "But why?"

Weiss gave a harsh laugh. "Winter and I may be twins, but I was born twelve minutes earlier. I'm the legal heir, not my perfect sister, and neither of them have ever let me forget it. Anything I had, Winter wanted. If I didn't give it to her I was punished. Winter would exploit that mercilessly. Anytime she found out I had done anything which didn't reach her perfect standards, she would tell father and revel in his anger.

"It's why I don't talk about me. Anything I said to anyone in that house got back to my father. Any problem I had, I had to solve myself. I've had no one to turn to most of my life. I've lived my life alone." The older girl's head sank on to her knees.

"You're not anymore." Ruby reached out and squeezed Weiss' hand. Her heart had long since broken listen to the tragic girl beside her. "We're here for you. All of us. You can talk to us. We'll support you. Help you. No matter what."

"You wouldn't say that if you knew what a freak I was, when my father…" Weiss cut off, a shiver running down her spine despite their shared warmth.

"No matter what," Ruby reiterated, steel in her voice. "We will help you. You're like family to us."

Fresh tears began to flow from Weiss at the statement. "Then you see why I can't lose this. That's why I have to train. I can't let my father ruin this for me. If I'm not good enough he will. If I'm not top of the class… the slightest excuse and I'll be gone."

Understanding swept through Ruby. She finally knew why Weiss was training relentlessly. Why she had been so distant. She was trying to create space between them. So she wouldn't be so hurt when they were ripped from her life. Shame flared within her, she should have seen this earlier _._

"Weiss, I'm sorry. I failed you. We're supposed to be the best partners, and I never realised why you were doing what you did. I don't want to lose you." After a few breaths she continued looking into Weiss' bloodshot eyes. "I want you to promise me that from now on, whenever you have a problem, you come to me. Promise me that. Please."

"How is talking to you going to solve anything? I'm still not good enough. I still can't sleep without seeing my failure."

Ruby hated seeing her in a self-destructive spiral. "If you can't sleep, wake me up, talk to me. If you have to go and train, I'll help. No matter what time it is. I can help you. All you have to do is confide in me. Please, promise me you'll do that."

Weiss nodded, she seemed to be all out of tears. "I… I promise." She gazed upwards as a meteoroid briefly illuminated the night.

Ruby merely clutched her tighter and sat beneath the open sky, stars twinkling above. For the first time at Beacon, her partner had opened up to her. And though what she had said had scarred her heart, Ruby knew they would only come through this stronger.

Life is but a series of hardships, of setbacks. You have to keep going, taking everything in your stride, overcoming whatever is thrust at you. It was the only way you could grow and, as she sat smelling the crisp, fresh air, she acknowledged that they had grown today. But more importantly, they had grown together.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this is the first story I've ever written, so if you've managed to struggle this far thank you. Now I've actually finished this book and rereading some of this chapter was painful. The full story is available on fanfiction.net but it was suggested to me that I post it one here as well. I will be posting one new chapter per week as per my usual upload schedule. This A/N will be rather long so feel free to skip it.
> 
> Now onto why I decided to sit down and write this story, RWBY has probably my favourite world and character design of any "anime" I've watched (though admittedly I haven't watched that many) but after finishing Breach I was felt very burned out on the show. I can ignore the animation errors (apart from THAT scene) and the lacklustre fights from the finale, which was just due to a lack of time. What annoyed me most about that episode is the final scene when RWBY are sitting on the cliff talking, I refuse to believe that the terrible Grimm that humanity fears were only able to "hurt" the civilians that were cowering in fear under them, I refuse to believe that Weiss or Yang are happy about being beaten, to the extent that they don't need to practice for the tournament. These are just some of the topics that I will attempt to expand and justify in this story, to try and explain why some of the characters are acting seemingly so out of their established character (looks at Weiss fawning over Neptune) and we'll finally see what Cinder has been planning. There are so many small issues I take with the writing on the show e.g. Why is Weiss carrying around a clip for Gambol Shroud full of Dust? Although I tried to explain that and all it would have needed was a 3 second shot in the show of Weiss working on it, though I can't explain why she didn't give it to her earlier. RWBY has established so many interesting, controversial themes but with their seeming insistence to keep it family show, how deeply can they explore them? Anyway rant over.
> 
> In this story there will be slight shipping although it will be very slow burn. The themes will be similar to this chapter, internal angst, the relationship the characters have with each other and how they help each other overcome their many problems, I'll also throw in some more light hearted stuff, just so it's not so dark all the time. As for length most chapters will be similar in size, I don't want to split chapters up unless they are exceedingly long and I already have a complete story plan so there will be no meandering between plot points.
> 
> I'm sure I've taken up far too much of your time, so thanks again for reading and if you can leave a review they will only help me improve.


	2. Chapter 2

"Yang, please stop pacing and sit down. They're fine." Blake didn’t manage to keep the irritation from her voice. Yang had spent the last few hours fretting over the reasons why Ruby and Weiss hadn't returned yet. The orange sunset filtering curtains only exacerbated her concern.

Blake wouldn't have minded so much if Yang's idea of worrying wasn't walking back and forth across the room, while exhaling loudly every few moments. Yang slowed and Blake had the brief hope of being able to return to her book. This was roughly disabused when Yang fell face first over her lower half, pinning her thighs to the bed.

Blake gave up any notion of enjoying herself quietly tonight. Placing her book on her pillow she addressed the prone figure. "What do you think might have happened to them?"

"Grimm might have attacked them." Yang spoke, without moving from her legs.

"They’re both huntresses. You've spent a semester fighting alongside them. Come on, you know they could handle any Grimm this close to Beacon."

"They might have gotten lost."

"Ruby came fifth in survival class. I'm sure she'll be able to find a brightly lit academy."

"They might have gone to Vale and been mugged. Huh, that's got to be it."

Yang began to rise, intent on rushing to help her sister. Blake pushed her back down. "Once again, they’re _huntresses_. What mugger in their right mind is going to attack them? Not to mention how much extra security is on the streets for the Vytal festival?"

"Well, umm…" Her theory shot down, Yang cast around searching for a new avenue for her worry. "They… they might have tripped and broken their legs."

"Right, so two trained huntresses, both with fully activated auras I might add, both contrive to trip and fall. Both of them breaking their legs. At the same time." She let a hint of scorn at the ridiculousness of Yang's suggestion enter her voice. “Suddenly I think muggers suddenly look more likely."

Yang's golden hair was incredibly soft as she wove her hands through it in an attempt to alleviate its owners worry. This level of physical contact would have been completely unimaginable in her previous life. The only time she’d used to touch people was in the heat of combat or sparring. Never for comfort.

Living with both Yang and Ruby required her to learn to cope with invasions of personal space. She could either be barely tolerant like Weiss, or surrender completely. She preferred her way. There was something magical about someone trusting you enough to lower their defences and open themselves to you. To allow you to touch their most prized aspect of themselves without any reservation.

Once again, she thanked whatever cosmic entity had guided her to Yang in the forest. With any other partner she might still have been the quiet, reclusive girl who always hid in the shadows. The girl she had tried so hard and failed to leave behind. But Yang burned, throwing light into the corners, banishing her defensive shadows, forcing her to come out and actually socialise. Even in the short time they’d been together she could recognise just how much she had managed to grow and owed it all to Yang.

"You know that they're probably just talking. It's going to take some time for them to go through it. Now, why don't we watch something while we wait?"

"I know, you're probably right, as usual. I just get so worried about Ruby." Yang rose, conveying her thanks with a smile and grabbed her scroll. They settled down together.

The moon rose and Blake started to worry despite her previous reasoning. The movie was all but forgotten in the air of tension that had risen between them and neither of them wanted to say what they were both thinking. They were saved by the rattling of the door as someone played with the lock.

Yang jumped up as Ruby appeared and crushed her in an embrace. Looking past the pair, Blake was more concerned with the appearance of Weiss. Dressed in her combat gear, Ruby's prized cloak draped over her narrow shoulders, her cheeks flushed with colour, eyes bright red, and walking with a pronounced limp.

As Yang was remonstrating with Ruby about not contacting her, Blake padded up to Weiss, speaking softly. "Are you ok?"

Weiss took a while before answering. "Not yet, but I think I'm on the right path now."

She still obviously had internal conflicts raging inside of her. That was something Blake could understand perfectly, but she knew Weiss could only solve them at her own pace. She gave her an encouraging smile.

A faint twinkle in her eyes showed gratitude and Weiss began to limp to the bathroom, before Ruby zipped in front of her. "Weiss sit down. I'll run you a nice hot bath, and I'll even put in extra bubbles. I know how much you like them."

A familiar range of emotions passed over Weiss' face. Blake had seen them before. Whenever someone offered to do something for Weiss she was initially shocked, before calculating. As though she seemed unable to believe it was merely out of the kindness of the person’s heart and they were instead trying to manipulate her. Although they were the sworn enemies of the White Fang, Blake didn't know what had gone on inside the Schnee household. Looking at Weiss, she wasn't sure she wanted to find out what could cause someone to treat the simplest offers with such scrutiny.

When she saw the depth of the issues Weiss had, she often wondered who had the harder life so far. The terrorist or the heiress. Life on the run wasn't easy, but there was at least a sense of camaraderie. A common goal. They helped each other. When their survival rested on every single member they had to. She had risen from that life with an awful lot of baggage, but nothing seemingly as heavy as that which weighed down Weiss.

Ruby hadn't missed the signs either. "Weiss, remember what we talked about. You're not alone anymore. You don't have to do everything yourself." Ruby pulled Weiss' hands to her chest, clutching them to her. "Please, remember that."

Nodding, Weiss moved to her bed, sinking onto the soft mattress with a relieved sigh. She laid back, her eyes closed. Yang didn't quiz her as Blake expected she would, perhaps sensing, as Blake had, that Weiss needed time to process whatever had happened today. Silently, Yang gestured to her scroll. They continued the movie in near silence.

Ruby bounced from the bathroom and helped Weiss to rise. Ruby seemed drained but hopeful at the consequences of the events that had occurred. Coupled with Weiss' words, it seemed as though Ruby had done what she had set out to do. She was a good leader.

In the hall on the stage, Blake had felt intense surprise that Ruby was named head of the team. Not that she had any desire to be thrust into the limelight, or had any concerns over Ruby's capabilities after seeing her in action against the Nevermore. No, she had just assumed that the girl who would one day run one of the largest companies in the world was destined for the position. Not the shy teen two years her junior.

But after seeing Ruby blossom under the added pressure, she was certain it was the right call. Looking at team JNPR as well, perhaps the criteria for being the leader wasn't to be the most capable, but to be the person who it would benefit the most. The person that would grow and flourish under the burden, becoming a much better huntsman or huntress because of it. _Yes, that seemed to be like something Ozpin would do._

While Blake was contemplating the nature of leadership, Ruby left the bathroom and closed the door softly behind her.

"So what happened?" Yang had sat up.

Ruby dropped heavily on Weiss' bed, blowing out her cheeks. "I'm not sure how much I should tell you. Most of it is Weiss' story to share when she feels comfortable. I don't know," she shook her head. "I followed Weiss into the forest where she started to train, and she didn't stop. Even in the dark she just kept on fighting. She has a lot of things weighing on her and she's tearing herself apart. She believes that everything that happened on that train was her fault and the guilt has just grown and grown. All because I didn't see it earlier."

Yang had moved to her and now enveloped her sister in a hug. "We all should have Rubes. She’s our teammate. We let her down. Now we need to help her back up."

"That's not all. She's frightened, terrified, of what her father might do if he finds out. She thinks he'll pull her from Beacon. The one place she feels happy. That's why she was training. Every time she was gone when we woke up, or when she wasn't here when we went to bed, she was out there practicing. Trying to get better, to improve, and destroying herself in the process. We all saw that she wasn't eating but, with all the exercise, she's so thin. I don't know how she hasn't collapsed yet. She can't sleep at night. She can't stay awake in class. She's a shadow of who she was before we went on that mission and I was the one who decided we should go."

"We all decided we should go, not just you." Yang put her foot down, her voice firm "This is not your fault. None of us could have known what would happen. I am not going to let you blame yourself." She enunciated each word clearly. "All we can do now is be there for Weiss/ To help her get over everything that is troubling her. You're not going to be able to do that if you're beating yourself up. So are you going to be strong enough for your partner?"

Ruby nodded.

"I never doubted you, you're the best leader this team could have. I'm just so proud of you."

As the two sisters hugged again Blake thought back over what Ruby had said. The mission was meant to have been an easy reconnaissance operation. Like the dozens she had performed for the White Fang. Go to a location, don't get detected, and find out what was happening. When she was alone it was so easy. She had honed her skills to be nigh on invisible when she wanted to be. Her teammates often jokingly referred to her as a ninja, never seeming to realise just how close to the mark they were.

If she had gone to Mountain Glenn alone, she would have been able to infiltrate the White Fang base without alarm, but then what? There had been too many guards for her to do anything. No, she would have had to sit impotent, seething on the side-lines as the White Fang moved forward with whatever their plan was.

Despite the casualties, the senseless waste of life, she preferred how it had gone down with their intervention. The plan had been rushed or at least she assumed it was. There was no way the White Fang had gone to that much trouble just to get a couple of Grimm into the city. In her debriefing Ozpin hadn't been much help in pursuing that train of thought. No, he had been much more interested in her.

The single bulb hanging above the table had blinded her, obscuring the rest of the room in impenetrable shadows. The metal chair had no give in it, digging into her legs. Another petty annoyance. The room he’d interrogated her in had been designed to be uncomfortable, intimidating. Perhaps it might have worked on some of the others who were sat in her seat, but it was nothing compared to what she had experienced in the past. It almost made her laugh. It was an interesting power play by Ozpin, making students wait here. Not content with his authority over them as headmaster, he just had to crank up the tension. Last time he had left her with polite words, comforting words, but she had seen the flash of anger in his eyes. He knew she was hiding something.

The door swung open, groaning on its hinges. It could have been a coincidence, it wasn't. Ozpin entered as calm and self-assured as ever.

"Good evening Miss Belladonna, first I have to apologise. I would never have sent you on that mission if I knew the extent of the White Fang operations in the area. I have a duty to you and your team and I failed in that duty." He appeared sincere and Blake had to admit he probably was. It was what made working him out so hard. On the one hand he was the kind headmaster whose door was always open, even for the most trivial of problems. On the other, he was the ruthless man who believed in a baptism by fire, throwing his students off of a cliff into a Grimm infested forest on their first day. All to separate the wheat from the chaff.

"You know we would have ended up there anyway. We were fixated on it."

"Nevertheless, my apology stands. Now, onto other matters. I've been reviewing Doctor Oobleck's report and the security footage from Vale. You and your team did exceptionally well. You not only managed to disrupt the White Fang, but you managed to contain a large number of Grimm inside the square long enough for reinforcements to arrive. You operated at a level far beyond what I would expect from a first year team. You prevented what could have been an absolute catastrophe and, although the casualties that occurred were tragic, the numbers would have been a lot higher if it hadn't been for you."

"Have you found out any more about what they were planning? That couldn't have been the extent of it."

"No, I sent a team back to Mountain Glenn but the caverns had been. The only prisoner we captured is being less than helpful, but we're not here to talk about him."

"Who are we meant to be talking about then?" Blake’s stomach clenched. Ozpin's brown eyes stared into hers, trying to unearth the secrets that had to remain buried.

"We're here to talk about you, Miss Belladonna. Three times now you have stumbled upon White Fang operations. Three times interrupting them when my own agents were oblivious of their presence. After the docks I gave you the benefit of the doubt. You could just have happened to be in the right place at the right time as you said. But at the warehouse. Knowing about Mountain Glenn. My belief is starting to run a little thin. So tell me Blake, were you simply in the right place at the right time?"

Blake took a heartbeat to think. She was running along a very thin line. She loved Beacon. It gave her access to everything she had once craved and at the slightest slip up she would be gone. Either expelled or imprisoned. She wanted to help him but she couldn't reveal her past.

What she'd done. That would only end one way, and if she stonewalled his investigation, gave him nothing, his response would be to rip her from Beacon. She had to run along that line not falling to either side. This was where his attempt at intimidation had backfired. She’d had time to prepare.

"No. We weren't just in the right place at the right time. At the docks I heard one of the White Fang talking. He said something about a warehouse. I wasn't sure if it was significant. That's why I didn't say anything at the time and I wanted to find out before I brought it to you." She said forcing a look of contrition onto her face. "So we decided to investigate, by ourselves. We searched the industrial district block by block before we stumbled upon the warehouse. By that time we would have missed whatever was happening if we informed you. So we pushed on. We were able to infiltrate the meeting and that's where we found out that something was going on in the south east. You know the rest." It was a half-truth.

"Hmm… and yet, even after finding out about the south east you still didn't come to me. Instead your leader revealed the information to me by accident and before I intervened you were planning to, what was it? _Give your huntsman the slip at night._ So tell me Miss Belladonna, why didn't you come to me like you said you were going to?"

Luckily for Blake it wasn't the first time she had been questioned in this manner. The key was to let the interrogator think they had dragged the information out of you. Make it embarrassing, something they’d think you would try your best to hide and they'd ignore the rest of what you had said, clutching at their victory. She let her voice grow louder, giving it a stressed edge.

"I was embarrassed. He beat me. I wanted payback. If I came to you, you could have assigned it to another team. I would never have got to fight him again. To prove that I was better. That's the reason. The truth. That I wanted revenge." She watched Ozpin carefully. He had jumped ever so slightly at her raised voice, and now his eyes were pensive, perhaps even believing. His next words caught her off guard.

"And would I have been wrong?" he said, his tone soft.

"What?"

"You say I could have sent someone else. If I had known all the facts, then I may have. You would not have had your revenge. That's true enough. But the team I sent may have been more experienced, better prepared, and they may have been able to stop that train. To stop those deaths. So tell me Blake, was your revenge worth it?"

The conversation had completely derailed from her meticulous script. The sight of civilians screaming, crying out in terror, in pain, flashed through her vision. _Was it her fault?_ "I… No of course it wasn't. I mean… nothing was worth that."

Ozpin gave a gentle nod. "As a huntress your first task is to defend the people who cannot defend themselves. Be it from Grimm or other threats. You are the weapons wielded by the hands of the vulnerable. You must never forget that. It must be your mantra. Your vow. If you let that ideal slip you will be nothing more than one of the many mercenaries wandering through our world. We are only separate from them because our goals are noble, theirs base. They may fight Grimm for coin, but we do it because we know in our hearts that it is right and we don't expect any reward for it. That is what you must remember.

"And Blake you must not blame yourself for what happened. If you had confided in me I would still have sent your team. It would have played out the same way. You must never feel guilt for another's actions. All those deaths were the fault of the White Fang. Not yours." A chill ran down her spine at his next words. "And they will pay the price," Ozpin said, his voice different ̶ ̶ cold and terrible and hard. A voice harder than any she had heard before. There were no doubts as to what the cost of their actions would be.

"I have one more thing to ask of you Blake. You are a brilliant fighter and have done exceptionally well in your time at Beacon. But it is time for you to take a backseat in this fight. You are still students. Let the professionals handle it from this point onwards. The stakes are only going to grow larger and so is the danger. At this time, you are not ready for it. So I ask for your promise that you will not go looking for the White Fang again. Do I have it?"

His previous words made sense and, more than that, she knew that they were true. The look that had passed over him frightened her. She knew that his response would be filled with blood. She had seen more than her fair share in her past and didn't want to step into that world again. More importantly, she didn't want to drag her teammates into that existence of fire and pain. They were all somewhat naïve about the true way the world worked, Ruby especially. She knew that she wouldn't back down if she ran across the White Fang again, but she wouldn't go looking for them. "I promise.”

"Thank you," he rose, heading toward the door. "I look forward to watching you fight in the tournament. Goodnight, Miss Belladonna."

The conversation with her headmaster had given her a lot to think about. Although she had successfully hidden her past, the other points kept rolling around her mind. What he had said was right. She shouldn't shoulder the blame for another's actions, but she couldn't help feel guilty.

Yang and Ruby were still talking quietly on Weiss' bed and at long last Blake was able to return to her book. She knew people thought she was strange for reading to the extent that she did, but it had always been her way of escaping. She used books to live a different life. To go to a world where she wasn't a terrorist, where she could forget the things she had done. Although, her life was immeasurably better now, she still enjoyed the thrill of finding out what was on the next line, the next page. Blake smiled, _let them think she was weird._  She leant her head back on her pillow and prepared for an adventure.

An hour later Weiss emerged from the bathroom in her nightgown. Yang proceeded to attempt to shatter her ribs in a hug, which Blake added to albeit more lightly. Ruby feeling left out leapt at them and almost sent them all tumbling to the floor. It was perhaps an indication of how emotionally drained Weiss was that she didn't attempt to struggle out of the physical contact.

Yang whispered in Weiss' ear. "We are all here for you. Remember that." Blake added her silent agreement.

"I know." They stayed that way for a few more moments before they separated. Weiss limped to her bed, inciting Yang's curiosity.

"Ruby didn't tell us how you hurt your ankle."

Weiss shot Ruby a scowl and, in that moment, Blake knew she would recover. " _Someone_ , thought it was a good idea to distract me in the middle of a combat routine and I slipped."

Looking like she desired something unpleasant to happen to her big sister, Ruby replied. "I wasn't thinking and was really worried and I-"

"It doesn’t matter. I forgave you. This time."

Meanwhile, Yang had turned her grin on Blake. "So you're saying that you, a highly trained huntress with a fully activated Aura, tripped injuring yourself. Hmm… I'm sure I said something like that happened, didn't I Blake?"

Blake shot Yang her best glare before taking refuge in the bathroom, hiding from the sounds of her partner's laughter.

* * *

 

The cafeteria was busy. The buzz of conversation and clattering utensils caused Blake's ears to twitch as she entered with the rest of her team. They were all in a good mood. For the first time that week Weiss had been present when they woke. Weiss' Aura had healed her ankle and, after eliciting a promise from Ruby to help her train in the evening, she was almost back to her normal self. They collected their meals, Weiss with encouragement from Ruby selecting a variety of fruit, and sat at their usual table next to JNPR.

Velvet entered the room, glancing around nervously. Blake liked the timid Faunus. She was not only smart, kind, and a strong fighter, but she had an even stronger character. Blake didn't have the strength to deal with being judged constantly due to her heritage, but Velvet managed it with a smile no matter what was thrown at her.

Blake’s gaze swept round, homing in on Cardin. He and those like him were why removing her bow was unthinkable. As long as they remained with their casual racism and biting remarks, Faunus and humans would never be able to coexist peacefully.

She’d loathed herself after watching Cardin bully Velvet. She had sat in anonymity, denouncing the acts but not stopping them. Just as far too many in the world were only too happy to do. After that day, she and Yang had made a pact to look out for Velvet. Whenever, they saw her alone in the presence of CRDL they would stop and talk to her.

Like all bullies CRDL were cowards. Velvet always seemed grateful whenever they approached, even if she didn't say anything. The one thing that puzzled Blake was why Velvet never fought back. She’d taken Grimm on while unarmed. Cardin would barely be a challenge for her, and yet she never even offered a harsh word in her defence.

Velvet was alone as she usually was in the morning, and Blake tried to catch her eye. Velvet didn't see the signal and sat down at an empty table. Even though seats were now becoming limited a pocket of space remained around Velvet. Several people approached before abruptly turning away. The reason was obvious. The acts of the White Fang in Vale had made the Faunus a target.

Despite what Ozpin said, that they were making great strides towards equality, she knew the truth. Most humans were inherently racist ̶ ̶ a dark legacy of the Faunus War ̶ ̶ and it took only the slightest provocation to bring it to the top. A peaceful protest for Faunus rights was a fair target for most of the population. People would hurl insults, and then stones.

It was this barely veiled attitude which had caused the White Fang to forsake peaceful marches and move to more extreme methods. As much as she hated to admit it, terror was a valuable weapon. When the humans knew the White Fang was there, the discrimination vanished, replaced by false smiles and nervous glances. It was this change in attitude that the members of the White Fang saw. They, including her, would think they’d made a difference. Improved the standing of the Faunus. Then they would move on to another area to enrich the lives of others.

It wasn't until she had left the White Fang that she saw the truth. After the area was quiet for a time, the discrimination returned, only intensified. Verbal attacks became physical. A nudge here, a push there, until a Faunus snapped. Then the mob mentality could reinforce itself. _Yes, the Faunus are all the same, they're all violent, all criminals. Nothing has changed since the Faunus War. It's us against them._

Attacks against Faunus increased, businesses trashed, individuals assaulted. The police didn't care. Why should they? Despite diversity drives by a few lonesome politicians, they were still mainly human. Humans who had gotten in the way of the White Fang. Why should they help the animals who gunned down their colleagues?

It was this that caused the Faunus to group together, only finding safety in numbers. Driven from their homes, their lives, resenting those in power who allowed this to happen. They should change it, but how? Then a lone Faunus comes along. Remember who made them treat you with respect. Remember who helped you. Join us and they won't look down on you anymore and many would.

They found courage in the hated looks that had been directed at them. Strength in the attacks they had been on the receiving end of. Their hatred was encouraged and allowed to fester until the humans deserved whatever they were ordered to do to them.

The good Faunus, the kind, non-violent Faunus, were turned into weapons, and the cycle of violence would begin again. That realisation had been a shock to Blake. It had been a mystery why their cells were ordered to move so often. She had just thought that they’d had completed their objectives. It was a devilishly clever system.

This was what she could see as she looked round. The hostile looks. The murmurings. It had been a week since the failed attack and, with no hint of movement from the White Fang, people were beginning to become angry. It wasn't as bad in Beacon as it was in Vale. In the city the wheel turned. 

People couldn't see it, but of course, a person could be smart, people could only be stupid. It would never end until the White Fang were regarded instead as the terrorists they were, not a Faunus rights movement.

A bright light waving before her eyes distracted her from her thoughts. "Here, read this. There's been another one." Yang held a scroll with the news upon it.

Blake scanned the article. _White Fang nest found attacked…Twelve of the animals dead… found dismembered… the third such attack in the last week._ The wording of the report was exactly what she had been thinking about and some of her rage escaped with her words. "Look at this, _nest, animals,_ this is what drives anti-Faunus prejudice," she checked the author. "Written by a human, and the tone. It's celebratory." _Of course it was written by human,_ the Faunus struggled to rise to any position of responsibility. Even while working twice as hard as the corresponding human. Just another fine example of institutionalised racism.

"Well, what do you expect to call them? They are animals." Weiss had looked up at Blake's words. The two of them had made great progress since the end of last term, but a lifetime of fear-driven racism was not erased over a weekend.

"No, there not. They're _terrorists_." Blake put extra emphasis on the last word.

"Yes they are, but they attack civilians, innocents. If they act like animals, I'm going to call them animals."

Blake looked around, JNPR and all the others sitting near them were staring at her, awaiting her answer. "Attacking innocents is deplorable, but can't you see if you treat them differently because they’re Faunus, it only reinforces their viewpoint? In their view it condones what they did. Would a human terrorist group be called animals? No, they wouldn't. They would be called terrorists. That's the only way we can beat the White Fang, make them a terrorist group, not a Faunus rights group." Weiss appeared pensive, as did many of those near her. _Perhaps she could make a difference._

Seeking to diffuse the tension, Yang chimed in. "At least it says the police are looking for whoever has been doing this."

"To give them a medal." Cardin's shout echoed from across the room, laughter followed. Blake knew whatever thoughts she’d implanted were gone. The mob mentality again.

Cardin grabbed Velvet's ears, as his cronies and the surrounding humans looked on appreciatively. The anger that had been flowing so close to the surface throughout the morning burst from her. A shared look with Yang and they rose, the rest of RWBY and JNPR rising with them.

As much as Weiss might despise the White Fang, she had come a long way in her treatment of law abiding Faunus. The rest of CRDL, with the exception of Cardin who was enjoying himself too much to notice, exchanged worried looks as the group approached. As it happened so did the rest of the students. After a certain food fight at the start of the term, the two teams had gained a bit of a reputation as being slightly insane. Only reinforced by the Grimm they had apparently hunted down on their initiation. Most of the students began a slow retreat to the doors.

Russell was even paler than usual as he touched Cardin's side. Cardin, swallowing as his eyes came to rest on the manic grin on Nora's lips. Velvet made use of the distraction and ran towards the exit. Torn, Blake paused for a moment before sprinting after her. As much as she would have liked to wipe the smile of Cardin's face, Velvet needed her more. The great oak doors to the cafeteria had almost swung shut when all hell broke loose behind her.

* * *

 

Blake stepped into the bathroom and the volume of the whimpering cries increased. Velvet stood over the sink, tears pouring down her face, her ears drooping. Seeing her like that Blake wanted to comfort her, tell her she knew exactly how she felt, to tell her the admiration she felt for her, but to do that she would have reveal her secret. She weighed up the pros and cons in her mind, before making her decision.

"Velvet, I know exactly how you feel. There's something you don't know about me." She trusted Velvet. She was a good person. One who wouldn't betray her. Blake took a deep breath, steeling herself.

"That you're a Faunus. I know." Velvet had looked up as Blake had prepared to make her confession.

"But… But how?" The world crashed down around her.

"You're a cat Faunus, and cats eat rabbits. I had to be careful."

Noticing the nervous smile on Velvet's lips, Blake decided to humour her. She forced a small laugh, Velvet wasn't one who usually made jokes. "Yes, I suppose they do. But I need you to tell me how you knew."

"It wasn't difficult. I mean, you wear a bow, that's it. I noticed the first time I saw you, b-b-but I haven't told anyone," Velvet stuttered at the dark look that Blake was wearing. A legacy of previous lessons about the best way to keep a secret. Blake forced a smile onto her face.

"I know you wouldn't. It's ok. I trust you." Breathing deeply Blake began to feel normal again.

Velvet turned back to the mirror, staring at her reflection through clouded eyes. "I don't blame you, you know. If I could hide, I probably would, but I can't. I have to deal with the looks. The idiots like Cardin. I'm lucky that I'm a huntress. We’re judged almost entirely based on skill. When we're out there, the people don't care if a human saves them, or a Faunus. They only see a huntress. But here, in Vale, I have to deal with it. See it every single day."

"You're much stronger than I am. I could never put up with their stares like you do. I think you're incredibly brave."

"Thank you," Velvet gave a small hiccup, an adorable expression appearing on her face, before it disappeared once more. "But people like Cardin aren't the worst of it. It wasn't too bad until a week ago. Most were kind, or at least indifferent, but then the attack happened and it all changed. There are always bullies, but it hurts far more to be turned away by someone you thought was a friend." She echoed Blake's earlier thoughts as she continued. "The White Fang think they're making our lives better, but they're not. They're only hurting us. They're idiots who think violence is the only way forward, but I won't repeat their mistakes."

"Is that why you never fight back?"

"Yes, if I wanted to I could put Cardin in traction, but do you know what would happen if I did that?" Blake shook her head. "I would be the evil Faunus who attacked an upstanding citizen. It wouldn't matter that he's been picking on me for months. Only the headline would. I would probably be expelled and I can't afford that. I need this." She continued in a quieter voice. "I don't know if you know this, but my family doesn't have a whole lot of money, or anything really. There aren't many jobs for Faunus apart from menial labour, but being a huntress, I could buy them a house. Give them a better life. That's why I need this. Why I can't afford to get expelled. So I sit there and take it, and then I go and cry in a bathroom. Thinking about their faces, about how happy they will be when they see their new bedrooms."

This story was as tragic as any Blake had heard, but sadly it was too common among the Faunus population. She’d walked through the slums inhabited by them. Talked to them. Stayed with them. She knew the life they lived and here was someone struggling to help her family in a world that didn't want to let her. It now made sense why Velvet was in some of their classes despite already having passed them. She was just trying to get a little bit of extra credit. "Ozpin wouldn't expel you. I've talked to him. He seems to genuinely care about Faunus rights."

Velvet let out a harsh bark of laughter. "He might say that to your face, but when the angry messages start pouring in, do you really expect him to sacrifice himself for me? Selfless people don't rise to the top. No, he would explain the situation. He would say I have only to say the word and he would step in front of the bullet, but he wouldn't leave me a choice and I would be gone.

“I mean, look at this academy. Actually look at it. As much as Ozpin might preach acceptance, look at the teachers. I've admitted to being bullied because I'm a Faunus, but do they try and stop it. No, they just say it's simply dreadful and move on. Look at today, the kitchen staff could see what was happening right in front of them. Did they even attempt to intercede? No, people in authority just don't care. That's what gives the White Fang their power. They're the only ones who say they’re helping us. As much as Ozpin says it doesn't matter who you are, he doesn't put his foot down because he knows how that will be perceived on the outside. So he talks about ideals and pretty words, only making the shallowest attempt at enforcing equality."

Blake could see the truth to much of what she said. S _urely Ozpin could stop it if he really wanted._ "You're right. I never really thought about it that way. I guess, being able to hide, I was insulated from the worst of it. Listen, if you ever need someone to talk to, give me a call. I'll be there."

Looking at her scroll, Velvet wiped her eyes. "Thank you, for being here, for understanding. It helped. I've never talked to anyone else about all this." She gave Blake a quick hug. "And all the other times you stopped Cardin, it helped me more than you can imagine." Blowing out her breath, Velvet forced a smile onto her face. "But now we've got to get to first period. I can't afford to miss it."

They left the bathroom together, feeling much closer than before, and Blake asked a question she had always wondered. "Why do you always eat breakfast alone? I mean, where's your team?"

"Oh, that. Fox and Yatsuhashi always eat early and hit the gym before lessons. And Coco isn't exactly what I'd call a morning person. It's just as well," she giggled, her eyes sparkling. "If Coco had seen what Cardin was doing before she'd had her coffee… Well, they would have been mopping pieces of him off the floor for the next week. That's the reason why I never told them anything. As much as I would like to see Cardin get his comeuppance, I don't want anyone to get in trouble because of me."

"Umm… Velvet I think I have to tell you something."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Well that was a rather heavy chapter dealing with some very dark themes. I really hope that RWBY actually addresses the theme of institutionalised racism, which is apparent in the show. The White Fang and the Faunus rights movements go some way but they need to be explored in more detail. I meant what I said that Beacon seems to be inherently racist from the way the show is written. In S1E12 when Oobleck asks if any Faunus have been discriminated against, after receiving confirmation, he says it's simply terrible and moves on. Now ask yourself if in a school the same thing happened but with racial discrimination, would the teacher just move on, I find that hard to believe. Now I realise I am hopelessly overanalysing two lines from the show and giving them far more weight than I should, they were simply in the script to show that Faunus discrimination is still present and the show didn't have time in the arc to go into it. But it is little things like this that persuaded me to write this story, to try and expand on them giving them meaning. Let me know what you think about the themes I addressed in this chapter.
> 
> As always this is my first story so a review saying what I did well/ what I could improve upon is incredibly helpful and if you've managed to struggle this far, thanks again for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

The stadium was awesome, that was the only way Ruby could think to describe it. They were still some way off, but it rose majestically into the clear morning sky. This was the main arena where the final would be held, the centrepiece of the Vytal Festival, and it showed. Shining white walls, _not surprising considering who one of the major sponsors were_ , caused it to glisten in the sunlight. A torch projecting everything that the Vytal festival was meant to represent.

"I just don't see why we had to get up so early to register. On a Saturday I might add,” Yang complained.

"I've told you at least a dozen times," Weiss' voice was exasperated. "One, we won't have to wait in line for hours. Two, we’ll be able to look around the stadium and more importantly the arena giving us a strategic advantage. And three, it is not in any way early. Ruby and I have been up for hours." Weiss spoke like she was addressing a petulant child.

"But I was sleeping." Yang replied in a high pitched whine. Ruby stifled a burst of laughter.

Deciding that the conversation with Yang was now no longer worth her time, Weiss turned her glare on Ruby. "And what is it that you find so funny exactly?"

"Uhh… nothing.”

In the few days since they talked in the forest, they had made slow but steady progress to alleviating some of Weiss' fears. Having elicited Ruby's help to train, Weiss seemed much more satisfied with the outcomes of the sparring sessions. At meals Weiss was eating, still not as much as Ruby would like her to, but at least she ate something. The downside to her progress was that with her return to her normal self it did mean that some of her more,  _unique_ traits had resurfaced. Ruby managed to consider all this while squirming under the hawk like gaze of the girl who was stood in front of her, hands on her hips.

"Well, people don't just burst out laughing for nothing. What was it?" Not that she would ever risk mentioning it, but Ruby couldn't help thinking how cute Weiss looked when angry. All tiny but fierce. She just wished she didn't have to see it from this perspective so often.

She glanced at her teammates seeking assistance but only found enjoyment from the other pair. Speaking in a rush, she answered "I was just thinking about how Yang was a child and then she answered like she was." She pressed her index fingers together, grinding the ball of her toe on the floor.

Weiss let out an annoyed huff and spun on her heel.

"Way to go sis." Yang said ruffling her hair. Blake gave her an amused smile before they hurried to catch up.

They re-joined their teammate as Weiss approached the only lit window of all the ticket booths built into the stadium. A bored looking woman sat within under a screen displaying  _Combatants_. Without looking up, the woman spoke. "Please place your identification on the counter."

The woman glanced at Weiss' scroll before doing a double take. She sat bolt upright trying to straighten her uniform, "Uhh… Miss Schnee. It's an honour." In the reflection in the window Ruby saw a perfect smile slide onto Weiss' face. Before they had become partners Ruby would probably have thought it genuine. Now she could see it for what it was, a façade, a legacy of Weiss' extensive training.

The clatter of the attendants typing came to a halt and she looked up confusion in her eyes. "Uhh… Miss Schnee, normally I would update your scroll to allow you access to the areas that combatants are permitted, but… you already appear to have full clearance to go anywhere within the stadium."

The attendant became more confident as she returned to her script. "Now, all combatants must undergo blood tests throughout the tournament, with the first one required upon registration. If you agree to the testing, please place your hand on the scanner and relax your Aura." Weiss did as instructed, not showing any response as the needle slid into her finger.

Ruby had known about this. Professor Goodwitch had given them a long list of prohibited substances, most of which had complicated names she had never seen before and was certainly unable to remember. The one that had stuck in her mind was at the very top of the paper, Dust. Confused she had asked the font of knowledge sitting next to her, and Weiss had been only too happy to comply with the invitation to lecture her.

"It's possible although incredibly stupid to fuse Dust into your body. If the shock doesn't kill you, which is extremely unlikely, you are able to make use of the Dust in ways that simply aren't viable with external manipulation. It's not worth it though. Dust is highly toxic and will kill you in time if it doesn't immediately.

"It’s believed the first recorded case of Dust being fused in this way was several hundred years ago. A tribe living outside one of the predecessors of the kingdom of Vacuo discovered a large network of extremely pure Dust veins. When this Dust started appearing in small quantities on the market and the origin of the material was found, several competing merchant houses hired mercenaries and set out to claim it for their own.

"In the resulting battles the tribe that had originally found the veins was nearly wiped out. The survivors were forced away from their ancestral homelands and into the wilderness. In anger, their warriors swore a blood oath that they would have their revenge. They struck against the merchant houses and they were said to be unstoppable. The handful of warriors slaughtered the mercenaries who had attacked them and brought the merchant houses to their knees, but they paid a terrible price.

“When they were found, Dust crystals had ripped through them, feeding on their bodies. Anyone who got too close to their corpses was said to become nauseous, a high pitched sound ringing through their ears. Eventually ropes were placed around the crystals and they were dragged to a great pit, dropped to the bottom before it was collapsed on top of them. Since then many have attempted to recreate these conditions to gain the power Dust offers, but none have managed it.”

Weiss smiled, obviously enjoying the rapt attention Ruby was giving her. "Although that story comes from a single surviving manuscript. So it's most likely extremely exaggerated at the least, or completely false at the most. No traces of the warriors have ever been found despite numerous excavations and I suspect it was written by a mercenary leader to excuse his defeat at the hands of a smaller and more tactically astute force."

The attendant was slightly less enthusiastic with Ruby than she had been with Weiss, reciting her script in a bored monotone as if she had already said it a hundred times and expected to repeat it a thousand more. After receiving her scroll back Ruby moved away from the window sucking on her bleeding finger.

With all of RWBY registered, they moved inside, footsteps echoing down the pristine and deserted hallways that most would never get to see. Even Weiss was impressed with the facilities, cafeterias, gymnasiums, sparring areas and private locker rooms for the combatants immediately before their ties. There was everything they could possibly need but it all paled in comparison as Ruby took a step from the tunnel onto the arena. As she stared up at the rows of seats towering above her, she imagined the crowd screaming her name, worshipping her as their champion. She began to bow acknowledging her devotees.

"Ruby, you dolt. What on Remnant are you doing?" Weiss' shrill voice cut through her daydream. Still mid bow she froze. Heat radiated from her cheeks as she desperately attempted to come up with a plausible excuse as to why she was acknowledging adulation from rows of empty seats.

Weiss shook her head once again, deciding it will be quicker to gloss over her partner's idiosyncrasies. "I'm teaching you how to curtsy before your first fight. You're wearing a skirt for goodness sake."

Happy to have got away with only a mild scolding, Ruby nodded her agreement before taking in the arena properly. An oval one hundred yards in length and forty yards wide at its centre point, surrounded by a fifteen foot high wall. The floor was covered in a layer of fine white sand to provide an optimum surface for the combatant's footwork. She knew that there was a transparent screen protecting the audience from any misplaced rounds or Dust usage, but the only evidence she could see of it was the metal mountings at the bottom, the hardened glass itself being all but invisible.

The arena itself was large enough for the fighters to try any strategies they desired. Even exploring the verticality of combat if they were able. Combatants would be eliminated either if their Aura dropped into the red, they left the bounds of the arena or they conceded. The last wasn’t likely. She walked alongside her friends, failing to supress a grin of anticipation. _In only a few short weeks, she would be out here for real._

* * *

 

Watching Weiss positively prance between clothes racks, a rare genuine smile on her lips, Ruby had to admit the indignity was worth it. Although she normally hated clothes shopping, she would suffer through it every day just to see her partner happy. She was already weighed down by several outfits Weiss had picked out for her _,_ and the shop attendant standing next to her was holding even more.

It was a very different experience going shopping with Weiss than what she was used to. From the quality of the clothes in the store, to the prices she was sure must be incorrect, to the way they were surrounded by staff the moment they entered. Though she suspected the last was more to do with Weiss wearing an outfit which cost more than most people make in a year, than anything she did.

Looking at Weiss she had to agree with the saying  _you get what you pay for_. Although she had always thought her partner was extremely pretty. Even with her combat dress plastered with mud and sweat pouring down her face she stood out from crowd. But dressed for her date later, in a perfectly tailored jacket and skirt combo ̶ ̶ naturally both being pristine white ̶ ̶ a splash of colour from her shirt and jewellery and finished off by a pair of tall heels, she looked incredibly beautiful. Something that Ruby knew she would never be.

She did wish her partner would wear flats more often though. In their dormitory, without her usual footwear, Weiss was so petite she was positively adorable. Not that Ruby would ever say that to her face. Weiss strode over with even more clothes, and the errant thought made her slightly less intimidating than she usually was.

"Ok, that's enough to get started.” She thrust the clothes into Ruby's already filled arms. "Go and try them on and remember, you promised to select at least three outfits."

After emerging wearing another set of clothes she supposed most of the outfits Weiss had picked for her weren't too bad. She had even begun to enjoy the experience: Parading herself before her friend, discussing the pros and cons of each outfit, Weiss swapping some pieces to better compliment her appearance.

The gentle murmur of Yang and Blake talking to Weiss passed through the curtain. The words of the conversation were lost on Ruby as she stared into the mirror, sure that Weiss must have picked up the wrong outfit. Her reflection wore a crimson ankle length evening dress which left great expanses of her shoulders and back bare. A slit exposed her right leg whenever she took a step. The outfit was completed by a matching pair of stupid lady stilts that she had trouble standing in, let alone walking. There was no way Weiss had meant to pick this for her. She could Weiss or her sister in something like this and making it look fantastic, but on her it just looked comical.

"Come on Rubes. I'm hungry," Yang called impatiently.

"Umm… I don't think this outfit works. I'm gonna leave it."

"Ruby, don't make me rip that curtain open. Come out already."

Knowing that Yang was entirely serious, Ruby took a deep breath, preparing herself for ridicule, as she tottered over to the curtain and pulled it back. The reaction was not what she had thought it would be. Yang wolf whistled, earning disapproving looks from the staff, Blake gave her an encouraging smile, but it was Weiss who drew her attention the most. She was staring at her, mouth slightly open in horror, blue eyes roaming up and down her body.  _Yep, it looks awful._

"Well?"

Weiss jumped, her cheeks turning the same colour as Ruby's dress. "Oh, it's… it's nice," she turned away her shoulders hunching, seemingly sorting through the outfits Ruby had already tried on.

Perplexed at the odd reaction Ruby turned to Yang who had a broad grin on her face for some reason she couldn't comprehend. "You look incredible Rubes. If you go out like that you'll have to bring Crescent Rose with you."

Now really confused as to why she would hunt Grimm in this gown instead of her usual combat gear she turned to the normally stoic Blake. She was the sensible one of the group. She would agree with her. "You really do look good in that dress Ruby."  _Even Blake_ ,  _were they playing a joke on her?_

"Now go and get changed so we can finally eat something," Yang turned her around and pushed her back toward the changing room causing her to almost trip.  _How does Weiss fight in these things?_ As she drew the curtain, Yang approached Weiss still wearing that broad grin. Ruby looked at the mirror again, still unable to figure out what Yang and Blake were thinking. She didn't have the innate grace or looks to pull off a dress like this.

When she left the changing room she put the outfit firmly in the _no_ pile. Yang moved it. "Rubes, you looked incredible. This is a definite yes."

Trying a different tactic Ruby replied, "Have you seen the price? I can't afford it anyway, or any of this other stuff." Yang had a look and winced at the figure.

"For goodness sake Ruby, I didn't bring you in here just to look around. I'm buying them as a thank you." Weiss' cheeks were still flushed and gained more colour as she made the admission.

Ruby didn't know what to do, the prices were too high for her, but they seemed absurd when someone else was paying. She didn't want to accept but she also didn't want to upset her friend. Ruby suddenly realised that Weiss might not actually enjoy shopping all that much. After all she hadn't picked anything for herself, but had instead selected outfits for Ruby and waited dutifully outside the dressing room, allowing them to exchange views on her appearance.

Looking back Ruby realised it was the same thing that happened the majority of times they had gone shopping together. Perhaps Weiss was ambivalent about the act of shopping, but enjoyed having a friend to look around stores with. Thinking back to the tragic facts that she’d learned about her childhood, Ruby suspected that before Beacon Weiss had never had anyone to spoil. Anyone to talk to about the small, unimportant things in life. Her throat became dry and Ruby decided to agree, whilst pledging to double her efforts to help her friend come out of her shell.

Yang had a slightly different thought path. "You know, I helped too."

Raising a perfectly groomed eyebrow Weiss replied in a level tone. "I believed you said you were hungry." Yang tried her best to recreate the expression that on Ruby, Weiss could never refuse. Though not quite as powerful it was still a potent weapon which caused her to hesitate. Yang capitalised on the body language, and a quivering lower lip sapped the last of Weiss’ resolve. "Fine. One outfit and you're carrying the bags." Yang was already gone before she had finished.

Before long the numerous outfits, including the dress much to Ruby's indignation, were carefully packed into bags by several employees. Even the cashier seemed to blanch as she took in the final total, but Weiss barely batted an eyelid. Weiss didn't have normal cards like the rest of them. Instead they were all pure black, lacking numbers or any other standard information. The employees serving her always seemed quizzical, but the instantly recognisable Schnee crest emblazoned in the middle normally cut short any questions they might have wanted to ask. Ruby didn't know what the credit limit was on them, and suspected that she wouldn't be able to find out even if she tried.

The street was bustling with people, the usual weekend throng reinforced by early arrivals for the Vytal festival. The crowds made Ruby uncomfortable having grown up in the less populated region of Patch and all the people passing within touching difference caused her pulse to jump as her vision obstructed by the masses that swarmed around her.

Weiss wasn’t intimidated in the slightest, leading them to one of their preferred cafés. Head up and back straight, she seemed to exude a palpable aura despite her short stature that made people stumble out of her way. Breaking their own stride, so she didn't have to interrupt hers.

"Don't you think all this security is a bit excessive?" Yang remarked, indicating the offending party as best she could with her hands full of shopping bags.

Ruby followed her finger, seeing not the usual pair of friendly Valesh police officers, but two members of the Atlesian military carrying assault rifles followed by ten of the new androids that General Ironwood had unveiled. Now she actually looked Ruby couldn't help but agree with Yang. There were similar squads on every intersection and, as cool as she thought the robots were, there did seem to be far too many troops in Vale.

A shadow slid across the ground blocking out the sun and causing most of the people on the street to glance up. The culprit was the monstrous Deliverance, the flagship of the Atlesian Military and consequently the most powerful vessel in the world.

Designed as a support craft, it had gigantic hangars and barracks and was able to disgorge thousands of troops and dozens of smaller vessels within a few minutes as it had a couple of weeks before. The smooth lines of the ship reeked with menace. Not content for it only to be used to launch other craft, it had been fitted with numerous weapon emplacements designed to saturate targets with area-denial munitions.

The Deliverance by itself was more than capable of halting any advance by the Grimm and could then, using the forces stationed in its underbelly, drive them back. It was a marvel of modern engineering and as its engines flared, a deep thrum permeating through the streets, Ruby couldn't begin to comprehend how something of that size could fly _._  Looking at all the troops around them and the numerous craft flying overhead, it seemed as though even the Deliverance's massive hangars were empty.

A thought that was echoed by Yang. "I mean there must be thousands of troops on the ground. It's like we've been invaded by Atlas."

"Don't be absurd," Weiss rose to defend her homeland. "The Vytal festival is meant to stop that type of thinking. Atlas was asked to help with the security and General Ironwood is probably just a little jumpy after what happened."

"Yes, but Torchwick is in custody and whatever the White Fang was planning failed. Don't you think having a dreadnought hovering over a city is just a little bit over the top?"

"Perhaps, but we were lucky it was there and you can never be too careful. I'd rather it was there and not need it; than for us to need it and it not be there."

They continued to argue as they approached the café. It was a quaint restaurant run by an old couple, which served homemade food tasting like it came from a much more expensive establishment.

As Blake went inside to get their orders Ruby sat down pleased to be able to take the weight from her aching feet. Weiss as usual sat next to her, in a position where she could observe the others, without the need to get involved in the conversation.

Although in the months they had been teammates Weiss had become more outspoken in their dormitory, Ruby could still sense that she didn't feel comfortable with the protocol of normal interactions with friends. It was just another example of the effect her torturous childhood had on her. She had never learnt how to just be herself. She’d always had to maintain the image of being a perfect child. The perfect child her father repeatedly told she was not. Ruby continued to study her out of the corner of her eye and her heart broke. Again.

Weiss was wearing an expression she only got when she thought no one was watching. It was sadness, loneliness,  _lostness_ , and the worst thing was it seemed like it was her default and all her other expressions were just masks she used to cover it up.

It made Ruby feel so defeated. No matter how hard she tried. How many times she managed to make Weiss smile. She could never seem to undo the damage her childhood had wrought upon her. Today Weiss had enjoyed herself, Ruby was sure of that, and yet a few short moments with her thoughts was enough to push Weiss towards the darker place inside of her. The dungeon crafted meticulously by her father.

Ruby felt so selfish. She had so much joy inside of her and yet here was her best friend who she was unable to share any with. She had promised herself that she was going to help Weiss but, at that moment, she didn't have any idea how to break through her conditioning. She could only resolve herself to keep trying, keep pushing, and one day she might see the radiance that she knew was in her friend’s soul.

Weiss’ eyes flash to the side before a smile slid smoothly onto her face. It was unfair that anyone had to learn to conceal their true feelings behind a façade even among friends. Blake deposited a quiche dish with a side of salad down in front of Weiss, who automatically reached for her purse only to be rebutted. "It's my treat."

Weiss promptly shot her daggers and Ruby knew why. The plate was overflowing with food. Much more than Weiss would normally eat, even when she wasn't battling her  _demons_ but now, with it being given to her, her table etiquette only gave her one option. Blake obviously knowing this, smiled sweetly as she took her seat. "Enjoy."

The talk turned to the tournament as they all dug in, Weiss determinedly chewing small bites still glaring at Blake, whose riposte was merely a twinkle in her amber eyes.

After finishing Ruby lounged in her chair, her stomach about the twice the size it should be and regretting wholeheartedly consuming a second portion of desert. As she shifted about trying to find a more comfortable position, she noticed Weiss sitting motionless, her normally pale skin the colour of fresh snow. "Weiss!" Her cry not eliciting any reaction, she reached out and touched her partner, all her discomfort forgotten. "Weiss, what's wrong?"

The other two stared as Weiss gave the briefest of movements, drawing Ruby's attention to the scroll held in her limp hand. Ruby gently took it from her cool fingers, and read the message on the screen.  _Winter will be visiting late next week_. It took her a second to decipher it, her initial thought being the season. "Weiss, your sister is coming here?"

Weiss gave the slightest nod, still looking petrified. To Ruby it was such an alien expression. This was a girl who had stood beside her as they faced a pack of Beowolves, without a trace of fear in her. Yet just the name of her sister reduced her to this state.

"That's good isn't it?" Yang said, her voice questioning, not quite getting why someone wouldn't want to see their sister.

It did have the effect of finally snapping Weiss out of her stupor. "No, it is not good." She turned on Yang with a heated voice causing people passing in the street to glance at them. "It is really not good."

"But why?"

"Not everyone has the loving relationship you two share. Some of us have a more difficult relationship with our siblings. Something that I'm not going to go into here. Let's just say she hates me and the only reason she's coming here is because she's bored and wants to ruin my life." Weiss had tailed off towards the end, her anger being dowsed by her inner anguish and her mask slipped. Ruby reached over and wrapped a reassuring arm around her. Yang's mouth hung open slightly, still trying to process the venom in what Weiss had just said.

"What can we do?" Blake laid a comforting hand on her friend's leg wanting to ease her turmoil.

Weiss took some time to get herself under control, and she shrugged out of Ruby's embrace before replying. "I don't know. She'll be looking for the slightest thing she can use against me. The slightest thing she can use to hurt me, and she'll find it."

"But what can she do? She's our age isn't she?" asked Yang.

Weiss shook her head in disbelief. "Yang, you don't seem to understand how the world works. How power works. Yes, she's our age, which doesn't matter in the slightest. You don't seem to get how far reaching the SDC is. Look around you. Everything you see is reliant on the SDC in some way. Everything. Look up. All those ships use Schnee Dust. They were manufactured in one of our factories. All the new Knights come from us and it's not just because they're from Atlas. Hell, the SDC donates millions of lien to the Vale police force every year, just to build up some good will."

Weiss took some deep breaths before continuing. "What can she do? Well, even without the SDC at her disposal, a single word to our father and I'll be pulled out of Beacon. But with it she can do practically whatever she wants. If you annoy her she'll get you expelled from Beacon or arrested on some false charge. You'll be rushed into jail, never seeing the inside of a courtroom. All because she said so and she'll probably laugh while it happens. The world spins on money and power Yang and, through our father, Winter has both."

Yang scoffed at the warning. "There's no way she could do that. There's due process for a reason. People would find out."

"Yang, what planet are you living on? The world isn't built to defend the little people. It's designed for the rich to get richer. Do you honestly believe someone as powerful as my father wouldn't be able to stop the story going to press?" She didn't wait for an answer, but instead carried on, determined to make Yang understand. "The public would never find out. Tell me, do you think the SDC is a law abiding company with what it does? The answer to that is a resounding no. A law abiding company would wait for the police to respond to attacks by the White Fang." She looked around making sure no one was in earshot, before giving Blake an apologetic look. "Blake, what happened when the SDC found out the location of a White Fang hideout?"

A shadow passed across Blake's face, before she answered in a flat monotone. "In the time I was active several cells a month would go quiet, normally after carrying out an operation against the SDC. I saw one. My partner and I found it. The members inside had been slaughtered without a fight, probably by special forces with huntsman training. It was a message. We were meant to find it and we only just managed to evade our tails. Every other outpost was reported as being the same. We knew the slightest slip up would not only result in our deaths, but everyone around us…" Blake trailed off, a haunted look in her eyes.

Weiss looked distressed at what she had put Blake through but pressed on, trying to drive the point home to Yang. "So no, the SDC is not a law abiding company. Every attack on us, we responded in kind and why didn't you know about it? Because they're kept quiet so the SDC looks like victims and nothing more. So the idiotic masses stay on our side. So, if the SDC can keep hundreds of deaths secret, I'm sure they'll be able to put a teenage girl in jail without the press finding out."

She carried on, her voice softer. "Yang, you need to understand the consequences of the games that my sister plays are very real. The slightest mistake and she could ruin all our lives. That's why this is such a big deal. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to see her until the summer and hopefully not even then. We are all going to have to have a talk about how to act around her, how to not give her anything to use, but this isn't the place for that conversation."

The atmosphere around the table was dead, the remaining drinks forgotten as each tried to process what Weiss has said, while Weiss apologised to Blake for the memories she had dragged up. Ruby had already known a little bit about Winter, but even she was shocked by the depth of the malice she possessed if what Weiss told her was true. Looking at Weiss, worry etched in every line of her body, it probably was. It was just one thing after another. She had been making progress on healing Weiss and now Winter's arrival was likely to tear open all the old wounds. Life just wasn't fair.

* * *

 

The evening air was cool and light, a slight salty tinge blowing off the sea as the group entered the square where Weiss was due to meet Neptune. Their moods had improved since lunch, although there was still an undercurrent of tension at the truths Weiss had revealed. But Yang had spent the last few minutes teasing Weiss about her date.

Weiss was saved by the arrival of Sun and Neptune. "Wow, you ladies look hot." Neptune shot them his trademark grin as his eyes roved over them. Luckily, in Ruby's opinion anyway, Neptune had never shown any interest in her, and as she watched Yang tense as his leering gaze ran her up and down, she was relieved.

"But of course, you're the hottest one here." He moved to Weiss who was wearing a dazzling smile and leaned in to kiss her. Ruby saw a flash of anger appear in his eyes as Weiss only let his lips brush against hers before backing away from him.

"You look very handsome tonight Neptune. I was thinking about seeing a movie." Weiss' voice was hesitant, a slight blush coming to her cheeks as she addressed her boyfriend.

"How about a movie first, then a walk down the beach when things are a little quieter?” Even Ruby didn’t miss just what that implied.

"Oh… ok," Weiss replied, not sounding overly thrilled with that. Not surprising really, with how he’d greeted her friends. Still if Ruby had been that rude to her, Weiss would have given her a lecture.  _I guess love makes people change._

While this was happening Sun talked to Yang and Blake. He looked slightly embarrassed by his friend's antics. Since the end of last term they had gone on a couple of dates, but Blake had confessed she wasn't sure if it was going to go anywhere.

"We're gonna head off and see a movie. See you guys around." Neptune held out his fist for Sun.

"Hey Blake, why don't you and Sun join us?" Weiss asked.

There seemed to be the slightest hint of desperation in her voice. Sun and Neptune didn’t notice it. Her friends did. "That sounds great, I'd love to." Ruby didn't miss the relief that flooded her face.

Weiss' flawless smile returned as Neptune spun towards her. "I thought this was meant to be a date?”

“It still is,” Weiss reassured him. “It’s just one with friends now.”

"Fine, come on then." Still slightly annoyed he left the square, his arm still around Weiss’ shoulder, forcing Blake and Sun to complete their goodbyes before hurrying to catch up.

Yang managed to restrain herself until they left the square. "God, he is such a creep! Seriously if he wasn't going out with Weiss I would've floored him. He was checking me out with his girlfriend standing next to him."

"Does she seem happy to you?" Ruby asked quietly.

"She must be, somehow. I can't see why else she'd put up with his crap." Yang reached down and picked up the shopping bags she'd been carrying all day. "Come on, let's get to the air dock. My arms are killing me."

"But the way he treats her…" Ruby fell in beside her sister.

"I know." Yang shook her head sadly, "When we first met I thought he was just a guy who liked to play the field, but now they’re going out…" She paused, thinking about what to say next. "He should treat her better than he is. There’s no way he should be doing that when he’s in a relationship. I just can't believe Weiss is standing for it."

"But can't we help her?"

"To be honest Rubes, I'm not sure we can. She's acting so out of character I can only guess that she actually loves him. If we try and get between them, she'll take his side."

"So we just abandon her?"

"No. All we can do is support her. One day she'll see the true him. Then she'll need us, and we'll be there. Until then we just have to watch out for her.”

Ruby was silent for a time, as they walked down the now quiet streets. "Yang… Do you think Weiss is just…  _broken_?"

"What?"

"It's just she never seems properly happy. She's only just started to recover from what was happening before, and with her sister coming, and now Neptune. I'm trying so hard to make her happy. I want her to be happy, but…" Ruby's face took on a defeated look. "Every time, something else happens or she does something. It's like she just doesn't want things to work out. I want to be strong for her, but… I… I don't think I can anymore," she trailed off.

Yang dropped her bags, grasping Ruby by the shoulders and turning her so she could look into her eyes. "Ruby, you're the strongest person I know. Ozpin named you leader for a reason. You're the best of us. We all have our problems and I admit that Weiss has more than most, but you're the one who holds us together.

“Without you I probably wouldn't have approached Blake that night and I certainly wouldn't have given Weiss the time of day." Yang reinforced the following words with a rhythmic squeeze on Ruby's shoulders. "But you did. You can see what's inside of people. I thought Weiss was a stuck up bitch, but you could see the goodness in her, and because of you I could too. Now I'm proud to call her my friend. Think back to what Weiss was like on that first day and think how she is now. She smiles, she laughs. All because of you. Without you she probably wouldn't have any friends. She'd probably cry herself to sleep at night, but she doesn't. Because of you.

"You're the only person she trusts here and that means you have to bear the burdens of the problems she shares with you. It's difficult, but so is life. You're strong enough to handle it. And if you stumble, I'll be right next to you to pick you up." Yang pulled her into a crushing embrace. "I mean, what else is a big sister good for?"

Ruby spoke so softly Yang almost missed it. "Thank you." She drew her sister close, revelling in the comforting heat radiating from her as she had so often growing up. "You're the best. And right as usual."

"You betcha," Yang pushed her out to arm's length again. "You good?"

Ruby gave a heartfelt smile. "Yeah."

"That's my sis," she reached out and ruffled Ruby's hair, eliciting an annoyed cry. "Now let's get back to Beacon."

The talk with Yang had helped. All of the worries that had been swirling inside of her had come spilling out and, although they were by no means gone, they seemed less insurmountable. She felt lighter on her feet, the great weight on her shoulders lessened and conceded she should have confided in her sister earlier.

They continued on in comfortable silence. A silence that could only be shared with best friends. The plaza they were in was like one of the many scattered throughout the commercial district, artistically landscaped, trees, fountains, benches making them a pleasant place to spend an evening.

But not this one. Ruby's head began to pound, a ringing in her ears, an echo from the past. As her eyes roved over, the destroyed facades, the boarded up shops, ghosts assaulted her senses. They were running, fleeing… falling. The carpet of petals. As she sat helpless. Useless.

"Ruby!" Yang's cry cut through her memories.

She shook her head and forced a shaky smile onto her lips. "Oh, I guess I was day dreaming. Come on we're gonna miss the airship.” Ignoring Yang's concerned look, she hurried off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's another chapter down and we can now see something of the effect of Breach on Ruby and the drain of the constant need to be Weiss' anchor to sanity. Now onto Weiss, Winter Is Coming. I had to delete that phrase quite a few times, it just kept turning up.


	4. Chapter 4

She was free, finally free. After an eternity of struggle, of strife, the torture that was double history on Friday afternoon had finally come to an end. The sheer depth of the malice that the Beacon admin staff felt for her confounded Ruby. She didn’t know what she’d done to make them hate her that much.

But for the next three weeks of the Vytal festival she was free. No more lessons. No more homework. Just combat. It was that thought that caused her to bound down the corridors. A contented feeling emanated from every student she passed ̶ ̶ even ones not competing had a heavily reduced schedule ̶ ̶ and her usual smile stretched until dimples appeared on her cheeks.

Pushing open the unlocked door to her dormitory she saw Weiss, back turned, bent over and looking for something in her bedside set of drawers. "Sup."

 _Weiss_ turned around.

"Hmm… what a quaint little greeting. Good afternoon, Ruby… I presume."

Ruby froze. There was no way the person standing in front of her was real. Absolutely no way. She wasn't entirely sure where she stood on the whole _romance_ thing yet, but no one was allowed to look that good. Ruby couldn't even begin to break down her features. All she could comprehend was an overall sense of utter perfection. A burning in her chest caused her to suddenly realise she'd forgotten how to breathe. The apparition opposite her smirked, enjoying the reaction, a smirk which only increased in size as Ruby blushed furiously.

"Winter?" Ruby asked hesitantly.

"Yes. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Weiss has told me _so_ much about you." Winter spoke in a silken, quiet voice which flowed through the air like honey.

Now recovering from her initial shock, Ruby began to actually look at Weiss' sister. She was wearing a business suit of the purest white; the skirt just slightly too short for proprietary; the neckline dipping just a little too low; the expensive white heels just a bit too high, drawing eyes to her slender, perfect legs. Winter oozed sexuality and confidence from every pore. The suit, which shouted money, was cut to Winter's flawless lines, emphasising her hourglass figure. Hair the same shade as Weiss' was bound up like a captured cloud, exposing the slender curves of her throat.

Ruby wasn't quite sure how Winter's skin managed to look pale beside her hair and suit, but it did. It was an unblemished expanse which appeared untouched by cosmetics. Her lips were full and inviting, tinted with the faintest pink. Meeting her gaze, dark irises like winter storm clouds over a turbulent ocean drew her in and Ruby could see the ferocious intelligence and strength of will behind them. One of Winter's pale eyebrows arched and with a jolt Ruby realised she had been staring, only enhancing the red on her cheeks.

"Oh… Yes it's a pleasure to meet you too," she blurted out in a rush, holding out her hand.

Winter looked at it for a moment, a hint of disapproval in her eyes. _Wait, did Weiss say we weren't meant to shake her hand… Why can't I remember?_ Weiss had spent hours drilling her teammates on the protocol of what they should do if they met her sister, but the shock at the perfection that was Winter had caused everything Weiss had told her to dissolve. She was relieved when impossibly silky, soft fingers lightly caressed her calloused hand.

"So, you're my sister's team leader, her superior, despite being two years younger."

"Uh… yes."

Winter's mouth quirked in a smile at that rather abrupt answer. "Interesting. You must be quite something to get into an academy as prestigious as Beacon two years early. Are you special?"

"Uh… I suppose," It very hard for Ruby to form coherent thoughts.

Her questioner started forward, hips shifting slightly, one leg crossing over the other at a deliberate pace. "Hmm…" She began to walk around Ruby, observing her prey.

Ruby was forced to either spin on the spot in an undignified manner or keep facing forward and lose sight of her. She chose the latter. A waft of perfume with the slightest lavender hint washed over her, eliciting a memory of her partner's scent. As Winter failed to appear on her other side she began to regret her decision.

"That's a cute cape. It really suits you." Winter reappeared with a smile on her face, standing just a little too close, forcing Ruby to look up at her.

"Uh… thanks.” All the thoughts Ruby had been gathering disappeared at this abrupt change in topic.

"So you're Weiss' partner. You've fought against each other?"

"Yes."

"And you beat her?"

"Uh…" While it was true that she beat Weiss slightly more often than she lost when they sparred one on one, it was only because she was able to make full use of her Semblance whereas Weiss couldn't use her more potent Dust glyphs for fear of hurting her. "No, were about even."

"But shouldn't the team leader be the strongest on the team?"

To Ruby, this was starting to feel like an exam she hadn't studied for and then had to take after spinning on the spot a hundred times. It seemed whatever she said was the wrong answer. At the moment she would much rather be facing down a pack of Beowolves than Weiss' sister.

"No… we all support each other to achieve more than we can apart." She was proud of herself for that.

"So why were you chosen as team leader?"

"What?" Her confidence dissipated.

"If you aren't the strongest, and you all support each other, why were you chosen over your other teammates? What makes you special?"

This was a question Ruby really didn't know how to answer. It was one of the questions that flitted through her mind when she tried to drift off at night. She had no idea as to why Ozpin had picked her over her teammates. Yang was a better fighter and always available for support. Blake was a great listener who was able to think of solutions to problems she would never have considered. And Weiss would one day inherit one of the largest companies in the world.

So why had he picked her? The shy girl lacking in confidence who just happened to be the youngest? The others said she was a great leader, but they didn't know how much work it was. How much she had to try. Any of others would be able to do the things she did effortlessly.

Winter's smirk had returned and Ruby tried to come up with a reasonable response, but how could she answer a question she didn't know the answer to?

"Winter, you're intimidating her." The low baritone from behind caused Ruby to jump about a foot to the side.

Dressed in dark suit, a man lounged completely at ease against the wall in the corner of the room. His face was hard, angular, a shadow of a beard framed his jaw and his dark hair was slicked back into a short ponytail. She was terrible at guessing ages, but thought he was perhaps forty. His startlingly blue eyes judged her, although whatever it was she couldn't tell.

At her first impression she’d thought he was relaxed, but now she saw that his stillness spoke of sudden movement held in check. A glance at the black hilt of a weapon showing over his right shoulder confirmed her suspicions. He was a huntsman. _Although what was he doing here?_

"You're not intimidated by a teenage girl are you?" Winter's smooth voice from right next to her ear caused Ruby to jump again.

"No, of course not," Ruby replied, lamenting that she had been constantly off balance since the interrogation started.

"Good, then we can continue. You obviously don't know why you were chosen as leader, so why don't we try and find out." Winter put a finger to her full lips in apparent thought. "Well you've said you're not the best fighter, so you might be the smartest. Tell me, what are the three tell-tale signs of a Death Stalker nest?"

"Uh…" Ruby _knew_ she knew the answer. They’d covered it only a few months ago but, with Winter's expectant eyes boring into hers, the information flitted from her grasp.

"No? Ok, tell me what are the mating habits of a male Ursa?"

"Uh…" Wanting to give an answer this time Ruby hazarded a guess. "They fight?"

"No. The female Ursai are larger than the males and they are the ones who fight for control of the harem." Winter gave a disappointed shake of the head identical to one Ruby had received from Weiss on many occasions. "I glanced at your syllabus on the flight over. I know you've covered it, but perhaps the Grimm aren't your speciality, however strange that is for a huntress. Why don't we try Dust theory? Tell me, what is the difference betwe-"

Ruby wheeled round again as the door opened revealing Weiss. She’d never been more relieved to see her partner. Even when she’d been captured in Mountain Glenn she hadn't felt as helpless as she did facing the girl in front of her. Weiss hesitated slightly as her gaze fell upon Winter, her eyes narrowing, but strode confidently into the room, stopping at her partner's side.

Her assurance vanished as Winter flounced forward and threw her arms around her sister. "Weiss, I've missed you so much. I've wanted to surprise you with a visit for ages, but I've just been so busy. But with the Vytal Festival I was finally able to make the time. So surprise." Winter's voice was filled with joy, somewhat childlike in its tone, and releasing the embrace she gave Weiss a breath-taking smile full of compassion and love.

Weiss seemed somewhat shocked by Winter's greeting and so was Ruby. Weiss had spoken of her sister with barely disguised venom, but she saw nothing of that in the way Winter had greeted her older sibling.

A deep breath brought some of the composure back to Weiss. "Hello Winter, Erashan," Weiss glanced back at the man behind her, who returned her greeting with a nod. "It would have been nice if you had sent word of your visit ahead, and I would also be very interested to know the reason you are in our dormitory. I assume that Ruby didn't allow you entrance." In complete contrast to her sister's exuberant tone, Weiss' voice was ice cold, a hostile look in her eyes.

Ruby suddenly realised where she was standing. Winter had already been in her room when she pushed open the unlocked door. She'd been so flustered she hadn't thought to question it. "No, she was here when I got back."

A pout appeared on Winter's face as she answered. Ruby couldn't help but lament the fact that even when she was pouting she was gorgeous. "I just wanted to surprise my big sister when she got back at the end of the day. I'm sorry.” Her eyes grew large as she apologised, her lower lip trembling.

Weiss' eyes narrowed at this and looked around the room, zeroing on her desk and it's slightly less than perfect arrangement. "Wait, have you been going through my things?" Weiss' tone climbed in indignation.

Winter continued with her childish voice, not rising to the confrontation as she replied. "I just wanted to see how my big sister was doing at Beacon, you hardly ever tell me anything." She pouted again. "I'm worried about you and so is father, we both know that you don't communicate very well and that you like to hide things.”

The last few words were delivered with a brief look that Ruby missed, but caused Weiss to rock back on her heels, the fight disappearing from her. Winter continued without missing a beat. "But there's no need. Your grades are excellent. I'm so proud of you." She clutched her sister's shoulders again and said in an almost inaudible whisper. "And I know father will be when I tell him _everything_."

Completely oblivious to the subtle undertones of the conversation Ruby, only seeing Winter bouncing with joyous glee, decided to venture a question. "Winter why are you in Vale exactly?"

"Well, the Schnee Dust Company is one of the major sponsors of the Vytal Festival as I'm sure you know, so someone's got to represent it."

"But couldn't Weiss do that?"

"No, silly," Winter said with a smile. "My sister is going to be far too busy fighting and I'm sure she wouldn't want to attend all those boring meetings anyway. So Ruby, are you looking forward to competing?"

"Yeah, it's going to be great."

"And how well do you think you're going to do?" Winter matched Ruby's enthusiasm.

"Um, I should be able to get through the first round at least. After that who knows."

"Wow, that's amaz-"

Weiss' annoyed voice cut across her sister’s. "Winter, drop the act. Why are you here?" The muscles of her body were tense with suppressed rage.

A scary transformation take place before Ruby. All the Winter’s joy drained away in a heartbeat. Her voice became smooth again, her perfect features regaining the slight smirk she had worn before. "Very well, if you want to skip the pleasantries and get straight down to business, father and I are very concerned about you."

"We agreed when I joined Beacon that I would handle my education not you." Weiss stepped forward and squared off against her sister. "And I am doing. My grades are close to perfect, and I have the highest overall marks in the year. So there is absolutely nothing for you or father to be concerned about. You report that back to him."

Now they were both standing in front of her Ruby could compare the sisters. When Weiss had told her that Winter was more beautiful than her, she’d been extremely sceptical. At the time she couldn't imagine anyone being more classically beautiful than Weiss but, as disloyal as it felt, she had to agree.

Winter looked like she had been ordered from a catalogue. All the best parts assembled by checklist, to produce the vision that stood before her. Whereas Weiss wasn't. She didn't have Winter's height or figure and her otherwise smooth skin was blemished by the scar she never talked about. When Ruby had first seen Winter she hadn't believed she was real, but Weiss was.

Weiss wasn't as perfect as her sister. She had imperfections but she was all the stronger for them. No one would be able to tell that she was short from her demeanour. No one would think she had a visible scar from the way she carried herself.

A relationship with Winter would be entirely one sided. What could anyone offer Winter that she didn't already have? Whereas a relationship with Weiss would be more reciprocal. As difficult as it was sometimes, Ruby loved helping Weiss overcome her problems. Loved seeing the change in her as she strived to live up to her lofty ideals.

Yes Winter may be perfect, but she would much rather be in a relationship with Weiss. _Wait, what? Why am I thinking about that? She's my partner and she's straight and so am I. Aren't I?_ Ruby tried shaking the thoughts from her head and focussed on the dispute in front of her.

"There's nothing to be concerned about." Winter mimicked her sister’s voice before her tone became about as warm as an arctic blizzard. "While your grades may be acceptable, your standing within Beacon is not."

"What?"

"You are not the leader of your team. A Schnee who has to answer to one of the common rabble and you have to ask _what_. It may just have been acceptable if you were on a team with Miss Nikos. Just." Winter turned her gaze of Ruby and the warmth of earlier was entirely absent. "But she is not Miss Nikos. She is two years your junior. Two years. She admitted she is no stronger than you. She doesn't seem to know even basic information about the Grimm and the rest of her grades are average. Does she sound like someone who is superior to a Schnee?"

"You're not giving her enough credit," Weiss' voice grew heated as she sought to defend her partner, who had wilted under Winter's onslaught, tears beginning to form in her large silver eyes. "Yes, she's younger than I am, but she's here on merit. Professor Ozpin invited her to Beacon because he could see that. She's an incredibly strong fighter and she's a much better leader than I could ever be!"

Winter smirked as she dragged that confession out of her sister. "So you freely admit your failures. Despite the shame that you have brought upon the Schnee name, I was willing to let you try and repair the damage and assess your position at Beacon at the end of the year, but then I saw footage from the attack on Vale.

“The brave huntresses who stood against the Grimm. One of whom looked very much like my sister. Surely that counts in your favour, yes? No, you weren't just in that plaza, you came up at the epicentre. You failed to stop a White Fang attack. A Schnee beaten by those animals. Fortunately, I managed to supress the footage and you get to play the heroes, but that doesn't change the fact that you failed. That, on top of your other failures, does not speak highly of the progression you have made at Beacon. The reason for my visit is to assess whether pulling you out of Beacon will do more damage to the Schnee name than the damage you will do by remaining."

"Winter, I have done everything that father has asked of me. I am top of my class. Yes, we failed to stop the attack, but we were sent in under prepared. If you must blame someone for that, blame Ozpin. Whatever, you want to believe about my team, you have to acknowledge that we are the best team in the year and upon graduation we will be one of the finest to ever come out of Beacon. A Schnee will be a part of that. A Schnee that will be relatable to the general populace. That was why father agreed to let me attend Beacon and I am well on course to achieve that."

"From what I have experienced from your so called leader, I find it highly improbable that you will achieve even half of what you say. Can you really see her passing your end of year exams? She's a child who can't cope under the pressure of a simple conversation, let alone a more difficult scenario. It will cause irreparable damage to the Schnee name when she fails after she has been selected as your better. That is something that neither father nor I will allow." The latest barrage of insults had caused the dam in Ruby's eyes to burst.

Winter was less than sympathetic. "Stop your snivelling, it's a disgrace." She turned her attention back to her sister. "This is your leader Weiss, how do you think father is going to react when he learns what I now know? I'll give you a hint, not well. How much more are you hiding from us?"

Weiss' voice was indignant, her hands clenched at her sides. "I'm not hiding anything from you and of course she's upset, you've just spent the last five minutes insulting her for absolutely no reas-"

The door banged open and Yang appeared covered in a layer of sweat and holding Zwei's lead. The hostile atmosphere in the room caused her to pause at the entrance. Unconsciously she centred her balance as she saw the impossibly beautiful girl at its source. The lead fell to the ground as she came abreast of Ruby and saw the tears wetting her cheeks. A wave of heat emanated from her as her irises turned red.

The reaction was not lost on Winter, who observing Yang's running outfit of very short shorts and a tank top that was little more than a sports bra, remarked to Weiss in a conversational tone. "Weiss, you didn't tell me you were living with a stripper. Well, I suppose you have to make money anyway you can.” She gave Yang a patronising smile and was rewarded with another surge of heat. The blonde squared up to her.

"Yang don't!" Weiss put a restraining hand on her shoulder, but Yang shook it off.

"What the hell have you been doing to my sister?" Yang trembled with barely controlled anger.

Winter didn't flinch from the proximity. "I haven't done anything to your sister. We've merely been discussing your team's dynamic like civilised people. Something you clearly are not."

"She's been crying."

"She's unable to accept the simple truth, that she is unfit for Beacon, let alone leadership."

"Get out!" The fire flowing through her veins caused Yang to forget all of Weiss' warnings.

Winter gave a small laugh. "And what gave you the impression that you can give me orders?"

"Because, if you don't get out, I am going to throw you through that window!"

"Yang." Blake, who’d slipped into the room at the same time that Yang had, alerted her partner to the fact that there was someone in the room who she hadn't noticed.

Erashan had ghosted within striking distance of Yang and remarked in a casual tone. "I think you'll find that if you pursue that course of action, I would be contractually obliged to forcibly dissuade you from it." He gave her a leering smile, his gaze roaming over her body, lingering on her long, tanned legs before returning to her eyes. "And I really wouldn't want to mark your pretty face."

"And who the fuck are you?" The discovery of another person in the room had done little to temper Yang's rage.

"You could say I'm Winter's… chaperone."

"He means bodyguard," Winter corrected, drawing Yang's attention back to her. "Not that I'd need one to deal with the likes of you. After your colossal failure, father is concerned about what plans the vermin might have in mind for Vale during the Vytal festival."

Out of the periphery of her vision Winter had seen Blake's eyes narrow at the derogative word. "Oh, the White Fang aren't vermin?"

Blake took her time to reply, she at least heeding Weiss' prior warnings. "The White Fang are deplorable yes, but they should be referred to as the terrorist organisation they are, not as a Faunus group."

"They are a terrorist organisation whose members are Faunus, who murder in the name of the Faunus, and who are supported by the Faunus, and you don't think they should be referred to as vermin? Do you also object to calling other things by their proper names?" Winter dismissed her as deranged with a shake of the head, turning her attention back to her sister.

"Weiss, father requires that Erashan assesses your martial progress and that of your…" Winter's gaze fell upon each member of team RWBY in turn, the smirk back on her lips, "very interesting teammates. I am very curious to find out what the results will be, though I have an inkling about what to expect.

"Well, it's been a pleasure. I think I have everything I came for," she continued her voice dripping with sarcasm. "And I can see why you believe you will excel here. What with a child, a stripper and a White Fang sympathiser on your team. I can't believe you haven't already graduated."

She brushed past Yang who was still shaking and took a step towards the door before throwing a parting question over her shoulder. "Oh, and Weiss do you have a boyfriend at Beacon?" Knowing what the answer would be.

Weiss retorted through clenched teeth. "I do actually."

For the first time that afternoon Winter was thrown off balance but quickly recovered. "Well, I just have to meet him. We'll have dinner tonight. I'll send you the details." She left the room preceded by Erashan and called back. "And make sure you wear something nice."

The quiet click of the door shutting seemed to echo around the room. For several heartbeats no one moved, everyone frozen in their internal thoughts. Weiss was the first to break the moment.

"Excuse me." Weiss spoke in an extremely calm and controlled manner. She walked to the bathroom, the door closing softly. Yang and Blake exchanged a look at this unexpected behaviour. Muffled screaming flitted into the room.

A few minutes later Weiss emerged, looking slightly pink. "Well, that could have gone better."

"You didn't tell us your sister was such a bitch," Yang addressed her from over Ruby's shoulder.

"I thought that was implied. Now maybe you can see why we don't get along. What on Remnant were you thinking threatening her like that? Did you not here anything I told you about her?"

"She hurt Ruby! You're lucky I didn't deck her."

"Yang, she wanted you to try, and notice I said try. It would have given her exactly wha-"

A quiet voice interrupted her. "I'm sorry Weiss."

Ruby was the physical embodiment of misery, her eyes red, lips trembling and Weiss couldn't bear to see her friend in such a state. Ruby's hands were warm in her cool ones and she clutched them tightly before addressing her. "Ruby, I want you to listen to me. Nothing she said was true. You are a great leader and an even better person. You will be a fantastic huntress. I need you to tell me that you know that."

"But I let her get to me… If you get pulled out of Beacon it'll be my fault."

Weiss gave a slight grimace at the last remark but continued. "Ruby she got to everyone. She got to Yang. She even got to me when I've been dealing with her my whole life. That's what she does. Look… she saw you were important to me and used you as a way to hurt me. She would have found a way regardless. So I need you to tell me that you know nothing she said is true."

Ruby nodded her eyes closed, but Weiss wasn't satisfied. "Say it."

"I know." Weiss pulled her into an embrace and Ruby buried her face in Weiss' hair, finding comfort in the subtle scent of lavender.

"So what next?" Blake's calm voice gave heed to everyone's subconscious.

"I don't know. Today didn't go well, but she probably doesn't have enough to convince father yet." Weiss spoke in a logical, emotionless tone. "I can't see father making a decision until after the tournament is over, so if we perform well that should be enough to sway him. We just have to make sure not to give Winter anymore ammunition to use in the meantime. So I suggest that you stay away from her."

"That will not be a problem," Yang said with a laugh.

"What about the assessment with the bodyguard?" Blake asked.

"Well that should work in our favour. You'll all be able to impress him. If you agree to it of course."

"Of course we will, won't we?" Ruby had perked up.

"If I get to hit him, I'm in." Yang grinned.

"I'm not sure why he was acting like that. I expected Winter to behave that way, not him, but thank you. Blake?"

"Of course. It'll be good practice anyway, sparring against someone who we don't know. So are you going to attend dinner with her later?"

Weiss scowled. "I don't have a choice and she knows it."

"Well, it might be fun," Yang said jovially, which resulted in an icy glare. "At least she only invited you. I'm not sure I'd be able to get to the end of a course without throttling her."

Weiss smiled slightly at that thought. "Just as well she only invited me then, and Neptune of course. Actually I better ask him now."

As she left the room, she considered what Yang had said. It was going to be _fun_ , although not for her.

* * *

 

"And remember don-"

"Weiss, I'm not stupid. You've been talking my ear off the entire time we've been in the car." Neptune's annoyed voice cut across his girlfriend's.

Weiss swallowed down an outburst. Couldn't he see how important this was to her? She could actually get one up on Winter this evening, as long as Neptune didn't mess it up. She tried a different approach. "I just want my sister to see how incredibly lucky I am to have you as my boyfriend. I know she'll be impressed by you as long as you remember what I said." She reached over and grasped his hand, continuing in a sickeningly sweet tone. "Can you please do that for me?"

"Fine, but remember you owe me for this. I had to change my plans at short notice. You know how I hate doing that."

Through clenched teeth Weiss replied. "Of course. I'm ever so grateful that you went out of your way for me.” The sarcasm completely flew over his head.

Weiss supposed she was lucky that he had agreed. The thought of what Winter would have said had she turned up alone made her shudder. Sitting in his black suit, she had to admit that Neptune did wear it very well.

His dark clothes complimented her full length arctic blue evening gown perfectly, a happy coincidence. It had taken her a long time to pick a dress and she had even resorted to taking advice from her teammates. Normally in this scenario she would at least have the solace that her outfit would be more expensive than her adversaries, but with Winter that simply wasn't the case.

As she thought of her sister, her heart sank. It didn't matter what she was wearing. Winter was much prettier than she was. She’d been told that more than enough times in her life. Her teammates wouldn't have said she looked beautiful if they could see them together. No, they would have realised the truth about her appearance, that she was the moissanite to Winter's diamond.

The restaurant was one she hadn't been to before. It was the best in Vale and Weiss felt a warm feeling of superiority as the attendant at the door bowed his head respectably towards her. The carpet was the same shade as Ruby's cloak and as she thought of her teammate shame flooded through her. Had she learned nothing from her time at Beacon spent with people who were below her station? Sadness that she would never be able to bring her partner here followed, but she knew that Ruby seeing how quickly she slipped into this world would only drive them apart.

All her teammates had become her friends in spite of her upbringing, not because of it. They were friends with Weiss, not Miss Schnee. Stepping through the door she shot the attendant a smile. "Thank you.” He started slightly and Weiss knew that most of the customers here would have paid him no more notice than the coat rack. Six months ago she wouldn't have either.

The ambience of the restaurant was heavenly and she took a moment to savour it. Soft relaxing music pressed comfortingly against her ears. Flavours and scents all delectable swirled through the air. The soft light from hundreds of candles gave the room a warm glow.

As much as she hated the type of people who ate here, she had to confess that it was money well spent. It was hard to imagine a better place to go for a meal with a loved one. _Unfortunately I'm here for Winter_.

Looking round she was unable to locate the patch of white she knew would indicate her beloved sister. She probably wasn't here yet, always being one who enjoyed being fashionably late and reminding everyone that her time was far more important than theirs.

"Miss Schnee, if you'd like to follow me your sister is waiting in one of the private dining areas." Upon receiving her acknowledgement the smartly dressed waiter spun on his heel and led them through the room. Weiss' mind raced. They were early. There was no way that Winter should have got here before them.

The waiter opened a door and gestured them through it. The distinctive alabaster hair within caused all her insecurities to rise anew. It was just as bad as everything she had feared. Winter, as usual, looked stunning. Wearing a long flowing white gown, the neckline plummeting alarmingly, she rose gracefully from her seat and glided towards them, legs crossing each other, hips swaying, every other step revealing an expanse of pale flesh as the slit in her dress parted. Every cruel remark her father had ever offered to Weiss in comparison to her sister was proven true as she watched Winter approach. There was no way she could ever look like that.

"Weiss you look incredible." Winter embraced her sister and, as she had earlier, Weiss wondered why? They never usually engaged in any form of contact. She could only assume that Winter was doing it to throw her off balance. She gave a rueful smile. It might of once, but living with Ruby and Yang meant she had had to forgo the idea of personal space. Their perfume was perhaps the only that they shared with each other, the soft smell of lavender. Their mothers scent.

"And of course so do you Winter." Weiss' neutrally polite mask was firmly fixed onto her face. She gave her sister a perfect smile, which slipped slightly as she glanced at the person next to her.

Neptune hadn't moved since entering the room, his mouth hanging open, eyes bulging, paralysed by the sight of Winter. As her sister spoke, Weiss began to understand what Winter was planning to achieve this evening and her eyes sparked. Winter's voice had dropped an octave and positively smouldered with sexuality and dark promises.

"What do we have here then?" She began to circle Neptune, a slender finger running over his chest. "You know I didn't expect Weiss to bring anyone. Let alone someone as handsome as you," Winter leant in to whisper into his ear, causing a jolt to run through him. "I have to say I that I am impressed Weiss and I'm sure father would be to."

Winter had completed her circuit and offered her hand, palm down to Neptune who had snapped out of his stupor and was wearing, what he at least believed to be, his lady killer grin. Weiss’ _boyfriend_ took the outstretched hand delicately and raised it to his lips, keeping it there for far too long to be appropriate. Winter shivered and gave an annoyingly girlish giggle.

"Weiss didn't tell me you were this naughty." Winter covered her mouth in mock surprise.

"I'm sure there's lot's Weiss hasn't told you about me."

Weiss had to try very hard not to hit him. He was a flirt, everyone knew, but here he was coming onto her _sister_ while she was stood right next to him. Glancing down she noticed the bulge in his pants and turned away in disgust. _Of course._

"Well, you can tell me all the inappropriate things about you over dinner and I'll tell you some of my deepest, darkest secrets." Winter reached out and grasped Neptune's arm, tracing his biceps with her thumb and pulled him over to the table. "Let's sit down."

For the first time Weiss looked around the room. It wasn't in fact a private dining area. It was very similar to the first room they had entered, just that the majority of the tables were empty, Winter most likely having reserved them all. Sitting shrouded in the shadows of the corner, Erashan looked as relaxed as always, but she knew he was coiled as tightly as a spring.

The rectangular central table was covered in a pristine white cloth that was bathed in soft candle light. There were two seats on either side and she took the one opposite where her sister had been sitting, unwilling to allow her to spend the meal staring directly into Neptune's eyes. Winter responded by leading Neptune to the seat next to her, sitting him down and smirking at Weiss from behind his back.

"Let's order shall we." Winter picked up her menu, glanced at it before leaning into Neptune, allowing him the perfect opportunity to look at her cleavage, knowing he would take it, and whispering in his ear. "I recommend the Quail, it's simply delectable."

One of the most uncomfortable and infuriating meals Weiss had ever eaten followed. Every time Winter laughed at one of his bad jokes or gave him a compliment, only thinly veiling the promises hidden beneath, Weiss felt an almost unbearable urge to commit sororicide.

The palms of her hands bore white crescent indentations from where her finger nails had been digging in to them. She knew that Winter was hoping that she would make a scene. A scene that would cost her place at Beacon and so ,whenever Winter turned to include her in the conversation, she smiled, replying politely, trying to mask the molten anger which was flowing through her veins. The smirk upon Winter's lips always told her she hadn't been successful.

She could have coped with Winter, she knew what to expect from her sister, but what actually caused her insides to twist was the way that her _boyfriend_ was treating her. Since they had entered the room he hadn't paid her the slightest bit of attention.

As everyone always seemed to be, he was infatuated with her perfect sister, not with the disappointment of the family. It shocked her that it hurt, actually physically hurt. Though they had spent time together, she hadn't believed she had any emotional attachment to him. He was just a means to an end. Tonight had confirmed everything she had believed about his personality and yet, as much as she despised him, his rejection of her was the most painful thing to happen to her that day.

The meal over, dregs of coffee in the cups cooling, Weiss rose, but Winter couldn't resist getting in a few more barbs before she left.

"Neptune you are so delightfully different from my sister's usual attractions," she let that hang in the air to make sure Weiss caught it. "And I am so unbelievably jealous of her, but let's hope we can do this again sometime.”

Weiss gritted her teeth as she replied. "That would be nice. It has been a pleasure to see you again sister, give my regards to father.” Spinning on her heel she left the room, a forced smile on her face. The atmosphere in the restaurant which had been so comforting at the start of the evening was now overbearing and she practically ran the last few steps until the cool night air assailed her.

Walking alone along the pavement she let her smile slip. The pain of the evening tearing through her. The click of her heels echoed in the quiet streets and, at that moment, she realised that her family would never let her be happy. They had even pursued her to another continent to ruin her life.

Her teammates called her princess, but they didn't realise how right they were. She was just like one of the characters in Ruby's books, but for her there was no hero, no one to save her from the monsters, free her from the tower, from her prison. No matter what she tried to do, her family would always be there, always dragging her down into the pit they thought she deserved and there was no way to escape them.

The heavy sound of rapid footfalls tore her from the morbid thoughts inundating her and she would have been grateful to anyone other than the person standing before her. Wearing his stupid grin, Neptune spoke in a carefree voice.

"Why didn't you wait for me?" Not waiting for an answer, he continued. "Never mind, do you want to go get a drink?"

Weiss blinked. That was the only reaction she could muster. He was speaking to her normally, as though he hadn't blanked her for the last two hours. Looking into his eyes, she saw no hint of trepidation or embarrassment. He wasn't looking to apologise for hurting her. He only wanted a good time.

 _Did he not realise what he had done?_ There was no way he could be that stupid. She saw a passing taxi turning the corner and flagged it down before replying in a carefully controlled tone, showing nothing of her internal thoughts.

"Firstly, I'm underage as you well know. Secondly I have to get up early to train, so I'm afraid I'll have to decline."

She got in the car without waiting for a reply. She knew she should have said more ̶ ̶ that her curt answer could jeopardise the relationship she had worked so hard to cultivate ̶ ̶ but at that moment with the strength of emotions cascading through her, she didn't trust herself.

The streets of Vale swept past the windows as she desperately tried to control her inner self before they got to Beacon. She tried telling herself that she only had to put up with him for a few more weeks, but that brought little solace. She tried telling herself that he was just a moron, but he was a moron who had hurt her. That he was an idiot and wasn't worth crying over. But, as she leant against the window, its surface cold against her forehead, the bright lights of Vale refracted in the solitary diamond that ran down her cheek.

 


	5. Chapter 5

"It should be just up here."

Weiss led them into a side corridor ending in a tall pair of double doors that opened onto a spacious room. At the far end, a floor to ceiling window giving a panoramic view of the forest below. In the middle of the expanse of polished wood, back facing them and gazing out at the view, stood their examiner.

Erashan let them enter the room before turning towards them. "It's a pleasure to see you all again." Heat surged through Yang as his eyes roamed over her body once more. "Before we start, I'll give you ten minutes to warm up."

He moved past them, to the others completely innocuously, but Yang heard him breathe in deeply as he came level with her. Yang spent the next few minutes trying to ignore the person she was desperate to hit. Despite him supposedly being there to examine them all, every single time she looked over at him his attention was glued to her.

She’d had to deal with men like that ever since, in her opinion at least, she’d won the genetics lottery and developed rapidly in her early teens. There were always lecherous old men who viewed her as an illicit gateway to recover their youth. Normally a harsh look or the activation of her bracelets was enough to send them running.

That wouldn't work with him though. There had been a few who tried to take it further despite her warnings and they’d been left sprawling on the floor.  She’d always enjoyed seeing fear replace the lust in their eyes. Feeling her quadriceps lengthen as she worked through a quick series of dynamic stretches, she knew the sight would be just as enjoyable today.

"Right let's get started." Erashan's deep voice drew their attention. "I’ve been tasked with assessing your combat prowess. To do this I will be sparring with each of you in turn. You may use your Semblances or your firearms if you desire, the only stipulation that I am placing on you is not to use Dust." He and Weiss shared a smile, possibly remembering an accident from her past. "Mainly because I don't get paid enough to be able to afford the repairs that Dust usage would ultimately entail. So, any questions?"

"What exactly are you judging us on?" Blake asked.

"I'm not looking for anything in particular. True combat is not formulaic with nice victory conditions. You just have to try your best to hurt me and I will attempt to prevent you. Any more questions?"

Yang shook her head, his arrogance was colossal to believe they would only be able to attempt to hurt him. He was treating them like children playing at combat, instead of the huntresses that they were.

"Very well. Weiss, you first. The rest of you can wait at the side." Weiss drew Myrtenaster from the sheath at her waist and rose to meet her teacher. "Ok, let's see what you've learnt in your time here."

Erashan's left hand reached over his right shoulder and grasped the protruding hilt. The object on his back split open and he drew a slightly curved black sword.

He took up a stance that was the exact mirror of Weiss', head up, shoulders back, right foot providing a stable platform for his weight. A moment passed as they stared into each other's eyes, attempting to gauge where the weaknesses lay.

The moment shattered. Weiss flew forward, glyphs beneath her, Myrtenaster lancing towards his throat. Erashan parried it. Shooting past him, she used another glyph to arrest her momentum ignoring the protests the sudden deceleration placed on her body and slashed at his unprotected back. Her attack missed by a hairsbreadth as he pivoted and she barely managed to block a reverse thrust that in real combat would have disembowelled her.

To the others watching, Weiss' blade was a glittering blur. She spun in constant motion, long alabaster hair streaming out behind her. Weiss fought with a tempo that Yang had never seen before, obviously desperate to showcase her skills.

Usually when she sparred in class the matchups were asymmetric, and Weiss with her lightweight weapon had trouble maintaining the initiative of the combat. Here, facing an opponent wielding a single sword, the relative simplicity of her weapon was not a disadvantage. She used its mass to launch lightning strikes at her adversary. Normally, fighting this well, she would have bested almost any of them, but against her opponent today it wasn't enough.

Yang had to grudgingly admit that Erashan did seem to be extremely proficient at combat. While Weiss moved with a speed making her barely perceptible to the eye, he fought with a deceptive lack of it, reading his opponent and moving in the most efficient way to counter her.

He looked serene, bored even. As though this was beneath him and Yang made note of how he hardly seemed to shift his feet as Weiss swirled about him, knowing that she would be able to take advantage of it when her turn came.

"Enough." Erashan deflected a final thrust, throwing Weiss off balance, before lowering his blade. "Well done Weiss. I’m impressed."

Weiss' reply was delivered in between sharp breaths as she attempted to recover from having thrown everything at her teacher. "Thank you."

"I mean it. You have always been good, but you used to plan out your moves and that robbed your attacks of true speed. Now you are much more instinctive. If you carry on progressing at this rate, in a few years, there will be nothing left for me to teach you."

Unable to find any words to reply to the praise, Weiss fell back on her training and curtseyed before re-joining her teammates. Ruby was wearing a wide grin as she threw her arms around her partner, almost impaling herself on Myrtenaster. "Watch out you dolt."

Ruby ignored her. "You were incredible Weiss. I've never seen you fight so well before. I could barely keep up." The colour which had slowly been leaving Weiss' cheeks flowed back even stronger than before.

Still unable to think of a way to accurately portray how grateful she was to Ruby for helping her train Weiss had to settle for an entirely insufficient. "Thank you."

They held onto each other, eyes closed, completely forgetting they were in a room with other people until a deep voice caused them to spring apart. "Miss Rose, perhaps you would like to be next."

Ruby and Weiss avoided looking at each other, both of their faces glowing scarlet, as Ruby took her position in the centre of the hall. The familiar sound of Crescent Rose extending rolled though the room.

"A very unusual weapon, a scythe," Erashan said conversationally. "A farmer's tool, clumsy and unwieldy, lacking speed and precision, but in the right hands it is truly deadly. So tell me Miss Rose, are your hands the right ones?"

Ruby's eyes narrowed. "Yes, they are."

Erashan's sword snapped to attention in front of him. "Then prove it."

Before the last syllable had left his mouth, Ruby squeezed her trigger. His blade became a blur as he blocked her shot. Petals filled the room as she followed hot on the heels of the bullet she had expected him to deflect, her scythe swinging round in a murderous arc. Rather than the solid impact she had been bracing for, the slightest brush against the hilt of her weapon meant she hit only air.

Not to be perturbed, she fired off another round, adding to the tremendous momentum of her weapon, and spun through a full circle. He wasn't where she’d expected, a solid foot to her back threw her forward.

In the fraction of a second that she had been forced to take her eyes off him, he had slipped into her blind spot and struck her. Realising that her current strategy wasn't working, she rolled on her shoulder and did what her uncle had always told her to do in such a situation: buy some time and come up with a new solution.

The cacophony of multiple rounds being fired in quick succession forced Yang to cover her ears. She’d been concerned when her sister had been kicked across the room, but Ruby had come up fighting. Her opponent's darting blade was lost against his dark suit as he deflected the bullets aimed at him. Petals followed Ruby as she darted forward. At first her aim seemed off missing her opponent by some distance but, as she continued to circle, Yang realised what she was doing and was forced to brace herself against the rising wind.

Sunlight lanced through the ever thickening cloud of petals swirling through the room. At the side-lines all three girls had pressed themselves hard up against the wall. Ruby was an almost solid streak of red against the canvas of carmine spots. The tornado was so thick that Yang was only able to catch glimpses of Erashan standing entirely still in the eye of the storm.

Without warning the cloud imploded, completely obscuring Yang's sight of the two combatants. The rapid reports of metal on metal and the occasional round being fired was the only indication to Yang that anything was happen in the maelstrom of crimson.

She’d seen Ruby practice this technique before but she’d never been in the middle of it and had no idea how her sister construed to fight when petals obscured everything in sight. Yang wasn't sure how long the clash lasted, but a loud clattering was followed by the deep voice she had come to hate.

"Enough."

Without the constant addition of energy, the wind in the room had died down sufficiently to allow some of its payload to float lightly to the ground. Ruby panted heavily, hands on her knees, Crescent Rose by her feet. Erashan stood next to her, looking as fresh as he had been before the duel.

"Very impressive Miss Rose. They are certainly the right hands." He sheathed his sword in a smooth motion.

"Thanks."

He looked over the sea of red covering the floor. "And an interesting application of your… very unique Semblance."

Ruby looked sheepishly around her, taking in for the first time the side effect of her fight. Her eyes lingered on her teammates who were coated in scarlet. "Sorry."

"Don't be. It's a viable tactic and one day you may find that you need it. The one criticism I would have of you is that you got overconfident and overeager for the kill. You overextended yourself and consequently I was able to disarm you." He reached down for Crescent Rose before pausing. "Do you mind?"

Ruby shook her head and they spent the next few minutes re-treading what had concealed from the others in the cloud of red, him demonstrating where she could improve. Ruby conversed excitedly and they passed her weapon back and forth several times to better illustrate their points. Thanking him more earnestly than before, she bounced over towards her teammates, and came to a stop before Weiss who addressed her with a smile.

"Well done."

Ruby raised her hand, hesitating, before plucking a petal from Weiss' silky white hair. "Sorry about all this."

Weiss replied without thinking. "Don't worry, I love the smell of roses." Realising what she had said her hand flew to cover her mouth. Erashan rescued her.

"Miss Belladonna, you next."

Blake strode confidently out to meet him, her feet throwing petals into the air with every step. She had a lot more experience fighting other people than her teammates. She drew Gambol Shroud with her right hand and, keeping the sheath in her left, she centred her balance.

Like before Erashan unsheathed a blade from behind his right shoulder, but at the same time his right hand clasped a hilt by his left hip, and a second sword slid clear of the scabbard. Blake shed the question of why had he only used one blade before from her mind as she concentrated, slipping into the state she’d learned to increase her reaction times. Her vision narrowed. All that existed was her and her opponent.

"Show me what you have." His right hand blade was trailing, the left hand sword held across his chest.

Blake launched a lightning slash with Gambol Shroud. His left hand blade which had been held defensively protecting his body parried, altering the path of her sword causing her to overreach herself.

It was almost her undoing. His right hand blade launched a riposte as she stumbled. She only just managed to block a millimetre from her skin. She spun, her sheath sweeping out at what should have been his unprotected right side, but he had reversed his blades, his right hand defensive. She only just managed to avoid a thrust with his left by utilising her Semblance to create some space between them.

Erashan had reverted to his initial stance and she now knew he was fully ambidextrous. The few times she’d faced someone using two swords, they used their stronger hand offensively and their weaker mainly for defensive work.

That was what how she used two blades and, though effective, it made her attacks much easier to predict. In this fight she didn't have the luxury of knowing where the majority of his strikes were going to originate. Her assumption of his skill had almost cost her in the opening seconds of their duel.

Now she’d learned from their initial clash she formulated a new plan, grateful that he hadn't pressed his advantage in the couple of heartbeats that she’d been stationary. In an even fight she would be hard pressed to compete, but her Semblance would perhaps give her the advantage she needed.

Without showing any outward signs, she used her Semblance to cover the distance between them in an instant, intentionally appearing inside his blades forcing him to backpedal. Most would have slipped on the treacherous surface below them, but his footwork was exquisite and, remaining in perfect balance, he parried her strikes before replying with his own.

Blake used her Semblance to full effect, her Shadows torn asunder by his blades even as she attacked from another direction, but to her chagrin his defence was impeccable. No matter where she appeared one of his blades was waiting to parry her strikes and she was forced to quickly move on before his other found her.

The song of swords reverberated around the room as their flickering blades came together. The blows, lunges and blocks came faster and faster as Blake took more risks, forfeiting her defence to breach her opponents. Stepping back his polished shoe slipped on the petals and she saw the opening she needed, and drove towards it with both her blades extended.

Time seemed to crawl by as he pivoted in perfect balance, one sword knocking the two of hers aside. The other come to rest lightly against her neck. That she was protected by her Aura wasn't much conciliation. The blow was symbolic more than anything.

Ignored fatigue bit into her as she lowered her weapons carefully, relieved when he removed his from her throat. Even in a practice match the chill of cold metal sent shivers down her spine.

"Well done. Once again very impressive," Erashan said with a respectful nod which Blake returned. "I sense that you have quite a bit more real combat experience than your teammates."

Blake used her usual half-truth for this scenario. "I grew up outside the kingdoms. If you can't fight, you can't survive."

"It shows. You are cool under pressure, able to formulate a strategy even in the heat of combat and you fight instinctively giving you great speed. Although, you perhaps need to temper your actions with logic. Did you really believe it likely that someone who had superb footwork up to that point would slip? I gave you an opening which was too good to be true and you fell for it. Remember a duel is won in the mind long before it is won on the field. Apart from that, your technique is excellent, but there are a couple of areas which you could improve upon."

In Yang's opinion Blake had done brilliantly. She’d leant forward in expectation at the final lunge only to feel consternation as her partner was defeated. As Erashan showed Blake some moves, Yang was grateful that she was going last. The other battles had allowed her to observe his fighting style and, though he was good, she knew she was better. Blake had pushed him onto the back foot by closing fast inside the reach of his weapons and that was the distance that her fighting style excelled.

Erashan spoke again. "Now let's see if you fight as good as you look." The leering grin reappeared on his lips. "And perhaps we could have a private spar after the others have left."

The anger that had simmered down low inside of Yang flared up, hotter than ever at the crude proposal. As she walked to the centre of the hall, Ember Celica activating, her lips turned up in a smile. _This was going to be a lot of fun_.

The sound of shells firing echoed as she used the recoil to shoot forward, a wave of red flowing over him moments before Yang did. Using her momentum she sent a hook towards his face intending to pulp his disgusting lips against his teeth. Her blow missed and, as she tried to stop, a blow struck her ankle. It sent her tumbling.

Rolling on her shoulder she was dimly aware of red hot stinging in her backside. She fired off more rounds to fly back into the fight. Once again her strike missed its target. This time she heard the sharp slap that accompanied a second searing source of pain on her ass.

Rising slower than before she staring at him incredulously. _Did he just spank me!_ A wink was answer enough to her unasked question. A heavy drum beat filled the hall as the edges of her vision clouded with red. _I am going to put him in the fucking ground._

Shooting at him again, she made sure to stop inside his reach and threw a lightning fast combo at his body. He tried backing off, never losing his perfection of balance, but she followed. Despite the energy flooding through her, she was unable to penetrate his defences. A shoe came out of nowhere. She saw stars.

"Is that the best you've got? Here, I'll make this easier for you." Erashan sheathed his blades in one smooth motion, adopting a martial arts pose.

That was the final straw for Yang. He’d assaulted her, and now he was insulting her in front of her teammates. Blood seeped through the world as she rushed in, throwing a myriad of punches at him, intent to destroy the bastard who was standing before her.

The feeling that she craved of shock running up her arm and then flesh giving way never came. He blocked or simply dodged all of her attacks. No matter how fast she struck. As he ducked under a roundhouse and slammed a double fisted strike into her stomach, a sense of déjà vu struck her. Unbidden, pink and brown flitted into her gaze, escaping from the place deep within her that she had buried her memories. Her scream of rage rang through the room.

The howl and the escalated ferocity of her attacks didn't faze the man who had driven her to it. Everything that she threw at him was sent back with interest. The feeling of helplessness, a feeling she despised more than any other, resurfaced as she continued to fail to connect with her target.

In her mind this fight morphed with the one she had tried so hard to forget. Both of her opponents wore mocking smiles and seemed utterly unconcerned by her attempts to hurt them. As though she was a child they were humouring. The conclusion of the fight on the train ran through her thoughts as she was slammed to the floor.

Against Neo she had fought her hardest and lost, but only because she had been unable to activate her Semblance. If she had given the girl more of an opportunity to strike her she would have won. It was a risk, but she knew that was what she had to do to wipe the smile off of their faces.

Jumping to her feet she waded back in, leaving deliberate openings she attacked, the anger shielding her from any pain. Every time she missed, every time she was hit, she felt herself edging to the critical moment. Flames rolled down her body, growing in intensity, illuminating the darkening hall, burning the petals at her feet. A forearm slamming into her throat was the tipping point. Power flooded through her, fires ripped along her nerves, igniting her eyes.

The intensity of her attacks increased, flying faster with more behind them, but no matter what she tried she was unable to connect solidly. A kick to her head knocked her down. An alarm went off from her scroll, barely audible over the war drums pounding in her ears.

The power surging through her body urged her to drive him through the wall at his rear. A rage similar to the time when she had destroyed a military mech with a single strike was constrained within her with only one way to release it. A scream of promise tore her throat as she threw the final punch at his head, her fist moving impossibly fast.

To her horror, he simply stepped to the side. A strong grip clamped onto her wrist and the immense momentum in her strike was redirected as he rolled around her. The air burst out from her lungs as she was slammed onto the ground. Desperately she tried to rise, but her arm gave a roared with pain from its position held straight behind her. A solid weight on her shoulder pinned her down. She gave a cry of torment, the tendons in her arm stretching to the limit.

A deadly cold voice sounded from above her. "Calm down."

When she continued to thrash desperate to hurt the man standing over her, agony shot through her, dispelling some of the red from her vision.

"Stop struggling." Erashan pressed down on the nerve cluster in her palm.

The fresh wave of anguish stripped the last of the anger, the fight, the energy, the _will_ out of Yang. Her cheek thumped onto the floor. An acrid stench assaulted her nose. The source drove her further into darkness. All the beautiful petals that her sister had created were blackened and crisped. She had done that, not him.

"Yang, I need you to look at me." Very slowly she turned her head to stare into his brilliant blue eyes. Erashan continued, still speaking in a cold, dark voice. "You may believe that in your anger you find great strength. It may be of great benefit to you against the Grimm or your average opponent. But against the people you and your team seem determined to throw yourselves up against, it is nothing but a liability."

He punctuated the next sentence to drive the message home. "And it will get either you, or your teammates, killed. I managed to make you lose control with a few words. In a real fight, you would be dead. Your opponents will not be above taunting you. If a few words can strip you of your reason, how will you react when you are powerless to defend those you have sworn to protect? When you see your friends and comrades cut down beside you? Will you lose control and sentence them to death? Or will you remain cool? Defeating your opponent as efficiently as possible and maybe save your comrades lives?"

His voice became softer. "Yang, you have to make one of two choices from this moment on. If you do not believe you will be able to learn to control your anger, for your sake, and your teammates, and everyone else who will one day rely on you, leave Beacon. Leave this life, and forget about being a huntress. For you will never be able to protect others when you are unable to control yourself. Or you can learn to master your anger. In which case you will graduate as part of one of the best teams Beacon has ever produced. You will be able to live up to the impossibly high standard that being a huntress represents. You are skilled Yang, that much is obvious, but now you have to decide the direction you wish to take. I apologise for the way I treated you, but you needed to learn this lesson."

Leaving Yang slumped on the island of black in a sea of red, Erashan walked past the other members of team RWBY. Ruby's large silver eyes glistened with tears, Blake’s mouth was open slightly, and Weiss wore a look of hurt and betrayal that caused Erashan to pause.

"Weiss, a word.” He began walking without waiting for an answer, forcing her to follow him into the corridor outside the hall.

In the time it took to leave the room, Weiss had recovered some of her composure and confronted him angrily, drawing herself up to her full height. "Why would you do that to her? I thought you were different than them. I trusted you." Her final words were strained, her voice cracking.

Erashan took his time to reply, and his voice was quiet. "Weiss, I know how unpleasant that must have been for you and I can take no enjoyment from what I have done today either. But it was necessary."

Weiss made to retort, but his voice rode over hers. "No, hear me out. I've read her file. Even before coming here I was worried about her lack of control. My worries were only confirmed when I saw her confront your sister. In her current state she has no right to be attending this school. No right to call herself your peer. Everything I said in there was true. She is nothing but a liability to you and your team."

"She's not! She's one of the strongest fighters in the year."

"She's one of the strongest fighters when you practice. I could see her potential. But there is a world of difference between practice and real combat. You saw what I did in there. If we met for real, I would kill her in a few heartbeats." Weiss blanched. "And there are many among the White Fang who would be able to do the same. The activities of you and your team will have undoubtedly have drawn their attention. Your team will be a target, even more so because of who you are.

"I do not believe what happened a few weeks ago was their final play, but rather it was just one part of whatever they are planning for Vale. I think it likely that you will encounter them again. My only concern is your safety. I will not let Yang jeopardise that because she cannot control herself. I know you Weiss, if Yang fell on the field, you wouldn't be logical like your sister. You would try and save her and likely die in the attempt. I regret the way I was forced to do it, but I did not have the luxury of being able to change her slowly. This was something your teachers should have addressed as soon as she came here, and they likely would have been responsible for her death. Whatever it leads you to think of me, I had to do what I did today."

"But she's a mess, and the tournament starts in a couple of days. She'll never be able to compete."

"Yes I broke her. Intentionally. Now comes the hard part. If she decides to continue on the path to becoming a huntress, she will need you. You and your team. I broke her. You must help her rebuild herself, improve herself. She will likely hate me for what I did to her, let her. It will give her a goal and the strength to reach it. The tournament will be a quenching point for her. She will either come out of it tempered or she will shatter. Whatever happens you will need to support her. Do you think you can do that?"

"Of course I can." Weiss was indignant.

"I know. Whatever persona you decide to wear on the outside, you have a kind heart and you care for your team, that much is obvious. I can't imagine how hard it was for you to come here on your own and make friends, but you have done so. The bonds you’ve formed here will last a lifetime. And I am proud of you."

Weiss' eyes glistened, the rollercoaster of emotions she had gone through in the last hour becoming too much. She looked at the floor. "Thank you."

"Now your teammate needs you. If you desire, I can help you prepare for your matches in the tournament. I am available in the mornings before Winter wakes. The offer extends to your teammates as well."

He bowed low to her, his voice taking on a formal tone. "Miss Schnee, do I have your permission to withdraw?"

The heiresses' training kicked in at his behaviour and she unconsciously straightened her spine. "You do." He shot her a final encouraging smile before spinning with the grace common to all swordsmen. Remembering something Weiss addressed his back. "And thank you for warning me about Winter's visit."

Weiss watched him wave an arm in acknowledgment. Thinking about what he had said she steeled herself. Yang had been there for her when she needed her and she was determined to repay her. Turning she walked back into the hall.

* * *

 

Kneeling next to Yang's prostrate form, Blake trembled. Ever since the first time they had encountered each other, when she defended her sister from Weiss, Blake had been quietly impressed. That behaviour hadn't existed in her previous life. Though there was comradeship, the weaker members were liabilities and, with execution only a single mistake away, that was something that they could not afford.

On their initiation she’d caught sight of Yang and tailed her silently, unwilling to commit to being her partner for the next four years on the basis of a single act of kindness. Many would have run from the two Ursai, but not Yang. She’d faced them down, without a hint of fear. That was why Blake had revealed herself. Yang was strong, and she was kind. Everything that Blake wanted from a partner.

It was Yang who threw the hardest punches and took the hardest hits all for the benefit of her team. It was generally acknowledged in the year that the one person you didn't want to be matched against after Pyrrha was Yang. But she wasn't just strong in combat. Yang was always there for her teammates. Any problem they had they could go to her. She would listen silently and then make everything better, giving them an obvious solution that was invisible before.

It was a talent that Blake knew she didn't have. She could listen fine but her normal resolution to a problem was to flee from it. Even now in the back of her treacherous mind those thoughts were stirring again. She forced them down and to think what Yang would do if the situations were reversed.

Blake had finished her duel against Erashan with a sense of satisfaction. Even though she’d lost, she’d known she’d had been close to beating him. Blake had believed Yang would. The brutality of the following fight had shocked even her. At no point had Yang come close to landing a hit and, unlike the other sparring matches, Erashan hadn't held himself back.

The anger that Yang had exhibited in the fight scared her. The ferocity of the flames streaming down her body had told the watchers the truth. At the end she had been trying to kill her opponent. If she had managed to land the final rage-fuelled punch, Erashan's Aura might have failed. Yang's temper had always rode close to the surface, but Blake had never seen anyone push Yang past that point until now. The result terrified her.

If Erashan was a civilian Yang would have murdered him, but as a huntsman he had effortlessly dismantled her. That scared her the most. Blake had heard what he’d said to her partner and she agreed with him, if not the method.

They’d gone hunting the White Fang, believing themselves capable of stopping the terrorist group. She couldn't believe how naïve they had been. They’d believed themselves to be great huntresses. Now she realised they were just students, highly skilled students, but students nonetheless. The suddenly revealed consequences of her decisions ripped through her.

At the docks she’d almost got herself and Sun killed. Her obsession with Torchwick had driven them to the meeting of the White Fang and, although it worked out in the end, it could have gone so much worse. In Mountain Glenn Ruby could have been killed. On the train she’d only beaten Roman because she had surprised him with Weiss' Dust cartridge, but Weiss would have died if she hadn't been thrown through that door, and if Yang hadn't managed to win her fight against Neo no one would have been close enough to save her. They had cheated death by such narrow margins already. It needed to change.

Ruby knelt next to Yang, attempting to comfort her sister. Yang shied away from her. The click of heels alerted her to Weiss' return. They locked eyes and Blake tried to convey a silent message to her teammate. Thankfully Weiss appeared to receive it.

She put an arm around Ruby and spoke softly. "Ruby, I need to talk to you about something. In private."

Ruby was distraught, cheeks glistening, lower lip quivering. "But… I've got to stay here."

"It's really important. Blake will be here for Yang. She won't be alone. Come on." Weiss drew Ruby up after her. With tentative steps they moved to the exit.

With Ruby gone Blake checked her partner's Aura on her scroll, though in the red it should still have protected her from any major injuries. Still, her partner had taken a number of heavy blows. "Yang, I need to see if you're injured."

At the smallest movement of Yang's head, Blake began to trace her hand over each of Yang's ribs, checking for possible fractures. Ruby had preyed on her sister’s ticklishness in the past, and Blake hoped it was that and not pain that caused Yang to shift. "Sorry."

Finishing her examination without finding any external injuries that could explain the lack of movement Blake was forced to ask her directly. "Yang, do you need me to call the medical wing?"

"No." To a human her reply probably wouldn't have been audible, but Blake heard.

"Do you think you can sit up?" When she didn't move Blake spoke again. "For me."

When Yang shifted her arm beneath her, Blake helped to support her weight. "Thank you."

Now she could see Yang's face fully, the state of her partner shook her. Yang's eyes were ringed with red, black lines marring her cheeks, but the worst was what she saw deep in those lilac portals to the soul.

Normally Yang was filled with strength, compassion, kindness but now… she appeared dejected, defeated… lifeless. And Blake didn't know how to make it better. In the White Fang someone who looked like that would have been discarded, sacrificed on a suicide mission. She’d had never had to support someone in their recovery from this position. The irony of the situation was not lost on her. The person that she would normal go to for help was the one person she couldn't ask.

Blake settled for what she could do in this scenario. Settling down cross-legged Blake gently rubbed Yang's smooth cheeks. Wiping away the tears, the makeup, letting her know that there was someone who still cared for her. Tongue pressed between her lips in concentration, Blake continued grooming her friend. She was rewarded by the slightest flicker of life in Yang's eyes. The wood floor was cool and hard beneath her and knowing it wouldn't be any better for Yang she decided to risk another step. Taking Yang's hands in hers she spoke. "Do you think you can stand?"

Noticing the subtle nod Blake stood, hands still interlinked, Yang shifted her feet and tried to rise. Blake was forced to step closer to Yang supporting most her weight. Yang's legs quivered like a new-born foal.

Using your Semblance took a lot out of you and Yang's seemed to take more energy than most. This was normally counter balanced by the amount of Aura she had, but after the pummelling she had received her Aura had been stripped from her. The result was that she was exhausted, muscles overworked, and the most vulnerable that Blake had ever seen her.

There were a number of couches that had been pushed aside from the centre of the hall. Bathed in the last light of the day they look comfrotable. "Come on, let's go and sit down."

With great care she helped Yang shuffle to the seats. Some of the petals that had been safe from Yang's Semblance fluttered away as she lowered Yang to the cushions. Yang shivered. It was so wrong that Blake sat herself down with their thighs touching and gathered the blonde in her arms, pressing their bodies together.

Now that they were so close Blake was even more concerned. Normally Yang was a furnace, her body temperature well above average. It was why she always wore clothes which exposed more skin than most, not through a sense of voyeurism, but necessity. On missions in the forest when they had deemed it too dangerous to light a fire, she could curl up with her partner and bask in the heat she radiated.

But with her Aura depleted Yang was feeling the chill of the evening, perhaps for the first time in years. Blake attempted to will her own body heat to her partner, to repay what Yang had done for her repeatedly.

It seemed to work. Yang stopped shaking and rested her head on Blake's shoulder. If it wasn't for the situation Blake would have enjoyed sitting here, cheek resting on the soft hair of her partner, breathing in the scent of her shampoo and the roses that surrounded them, their chests rising and fooling in sync, staring out the window at the beautiful sight of the Emerald Forest stretching into the distance.

It would have been the perfect way to spend the evening if the girl she was holding could enjoy it too. Now she was sitting here Blake had run out of ideas. Yang needed to talk about what had happened, but she had no idea how to approach the subject. She didn't want to undo what she had accomplished so far by pushing Yang when she wasn't ready, and so instead decided to allow her to speak in her own time.

Time passed, lonely clouds drifting serenely across the brilliant blue sky as the sun sank lower, rays of orange cascading off of the wanderers. When Yang finally spoke in a soft tone Blake jumped slightly.

"He was right you know. I am a liability. All I do is let people down. Even the first time we met properly, in the forest, I was the one who attracted those Ursai. I was cocky shouting like that, and it could have gone so much worse for us. I've always been confident in myself. I could beat anyone who fought me. Hell I'd pick a fight with an entire club and know I'd walk out the winner. But now… now I know I'm nothing special."

Blake wanted to reply that Yang was special. That she was an incredible person and Blake was honoured to count her among her friends but, before she could say anything, Yang continued.

"I've been lying to you. All of you. When I was telling Weiss to talk about what happened on that train, I was burying what happened to me. God, I'm a hypocrite as well. I didn't win like I told you afterward. I didn't beat Neo. I didn't even come close. Just like today. The worst part wasn't losing. It wasn't even that my life rested on the outcome. I was too angry to think about that. No the worst part was she didn't take me seriously. She was playing with me, like I used to do to Ruby when we were kids. That's all she thought of me. Someone who's meant to be a huntress, who's meant to protect people, and I couldn't even protect myself. No matter what I did, I couldn't hit her. It just made me angrier and angrier and all she would do is smile like it was a game.

"Being outclassed like that terrified me. I mean against Pyrrha I can at least test her, but there I couldn't do anything. So I lied to you, to myself. I made myself believe that she’d gotten lucky. That the only reason she beat me was that I was tired. That I wasn't able to activate my Semblance. And if I saw her again, do you know what I would have done? I would have charged straight at her and the same thing would have happened. That's at least the one good thing to come out of today. Now I know I'd lose. He made sure of that. He exposed how weak I really am."

Though shocked about the revelation, Blake sought to halt her partners spiral into depression. "Yang, you're the strongest person I know."

When Yang refuted the claim in the same quiet voice she used throughout her talk, the lack of her usual fight was shocking to Blake.

"I'm not though. It's all a façade. I've never had the chance to be anything else. When…" Yang choked up. "When mum died. It felt like my heart had been ripped out and all the colour, the joy seeped out of the world. I wanted to cry, to mourn. To do all the normal things a child would do in that situation. But I couldn't. Dad… he… he didn't take it well.

"I'd come home from school and find him passed out, bottles everywhere. It was fifty-fifty whether he'd have remembered to collect Ruby, but even if he did there was no dinner on the table. No clean clothes for her to wear. No one to read to her as she cried herself to sleep. I had to be strong for her. I had to do all those things for her.

“I was only two years older than her. I'd lost my mum too, but… I couldn't show it. I couldn't cry when I was sleeping in her bed, holding her. She needed me. So I pushed all those feelings down into the hole where my heart used to be. Instead of pain I felt anger. It was my only release from the hell my life had become. I hated my dad for being weak. I hated the alcohol. I hated my uncle for running off on hunts instead of being there for me. I even hated Ruby because she was allowed to mourn. To do everything I so wanted to do. But I loved her more, and I didn't want to hurt her no matter how I felt.

"So I poured my anger out on the people at school. I picked on the weak. I picked on the strong. I picked on those who picked on the weak. I didn't care as long as I got to fight. To pound my anger away. It was in that time that I discovered my Semblance well before I should have. I Snapped. All the rage that had been building inside of me flooded out and set the world on fire.

“I'll never forget the first time it happened. I was fighting a boy two years older than me. Luckily his Aura was activated otherwise I would have killed him. He was winning and then it happened. I felt the dam burst and I hit him. Once. He went halfway through the wall behind him. The baying crowd around us went silent and when I stood up they stepped back. As I met each of their eyes I saw fear.

"And the worst thing was, I liked it.  It made me feel powerful. Like I was in control. Like I wasn't a child struggling to survive in a cruel world. It was only after that I realised my irises were red. In the wake of that no one at school would face me, but the anger was still there. I still needed release.

"So whenever I felt fit to burst, I would walk through the town, down the back alleys and darkened streets. A little girl looking for trouble and I'd find it. Patch is small, there are no major criminal organisations there, just lowlifes looking for an easy score. And what's easier than a child with flowers on her backpack?

“They learnt how wrong they were. They were all addicts too weak to defend themselves against anyone who didn't freeze at the sight of a knife. Looking back it was stupid. Anyone with training, anyone who knew how to fight, would have wiped the floor with me and then being angry would have been the least of my worries. But no one was good enough and they were perfect recipients for my anger. I did all that, put myself in such danger, all so I could go home and smile at my sister. Cook her dinner, help her brush her teeth, put her to bed, and crawl in next to her. Be there for her."

Blake's found it difficult to breathe. She didn't think she'd be able to speak even if she wanted to. Yang's story was tragic, but worst of all it was completely relatable. The sorrow, the burning anger, those emotions were all too familiar to her. Although she hadn't found a release. She had wallowed in her rage, stoking it, railing at the world that ripped everything from her, and in her rage she had made decisions that clawed at her soul. She thrust those memories away as Yang continued.

"Ruby doesn't know about any of this. She mustn't ever know. It would serve no purpose and undo everything that I did, everything that I suffered for. I helped her to regain some semblance of normalcy although, to be honest, I don't think she ever really recovered. Even now I wonder if she truly knows mum is gone. Back then she didn't understand the concept of death. It was worst when she asked ‘when's mum coming home?’ It made me so mad. I couldn't even stand the sight of her.

“I knew the truth, but I couldn't make her hurt any more than she already was. So I'd just turn and walk away, slamming the door on my way out. And, no matter how many times it happened, while sitting in the park or walking along lonely streets, the guilt would overwhelm me. Ruby had come to me for comfort and I'd turned her away. I'd run home and she'd be crying, hugging her cloak, the one mum gave her. I'd take her in my arms, hold her until she stopped sobbing, whispering soothing words into her hair and try to explain why mum wasn't coming home. Perhaps I should have been harsher, drilled the reality into her, because she would always ask again.

"I dunno. I was just a kid. I tried talking to dad when he was sober, but he'd get angry when I brought it up. I was there to support Ruby, but there was no one for me. No one. No one for a girl who'd lost her mum and suddenly had to do everything for her sister. Be the adult she just wasn't. I had no friends to talk to. I'd driven them all away. Qrow was gone, and I didn't want to talk to the teachers because I knew dad would get in trouble and then we'd lose him too. So I hid everything, coping the best I could. I made sure I looked strong for Ruby. That's the façade you've always seen. I had to wear it so often it just became natural to me. No matter how I'm feeling on the inside, I don't let it show.

"After a time Ruby latched onto that strength. It's not surprising really. I was the one who was always there for her, doing all the things mum used to do. She used to follow me round—my constant shadow—at home, at school. I didn't mind that much. It was better than being alone and she was happy. She'd always want to show me what she'd done in class. What she'd built. She took on such a positive attitude, always seeing the best in situations, in people. It helped me. It made me think maybe I done something right, helped her, but now I'm not so sure.

"She never really learnt to make friends. She didn't need to when I was always there and I didn't force her to. I should have. I know that now. It wasn't healthy that she relied on me so much. Any recovery she made was built entirely around me. I should have helped her understand her feelings, talked through them with her, but what could I have said to her when I was feeling exactly the same? Instead she had to deal with it by herself, and I'm not sure she ever did. All that happiness, all that positivity, is just a front covering up the emptiness and sadness of where mum used to be.

"Since the mission, I've been thinking about what would happen if I died. Before it was just fun. I was playing at being a huntress. But I could have died on that train. I'm still not sure why she didn't kill me…" Yang trailed off seemingly lost in memories before speaking again.

"And in Vale lots of people did die. It's not a game anymore, something to do for the adventure. The stakes are real and I'm not as good as I thought I was. In a couple of weeks I fought two people who could kill me. I'm not scared of dying, but I'm terrified of what it would do to Ruby. She wouldn't be able to cope. Everything she'd built around me would come crashing down. Only I wouldn't be there to pull her out, and judging how dad acted last time he lost someone, he wouldn't either.

"That's why I need you. You and Weiss. It still amazes me that Ruby managed to make friends here, actual friends. She's grown so much in only a couple of months. She's come out of her shell and I have you and Weiss to thank for it. It's the only comforting thing. That if I were to die, you'd be there for her. You'd hold her as she cried. You'd tell her it'll get better. You'd be strong for her. Just like I was.

"But I can't put her through that again. Erashan said I had two choices, but I can't imagine leaving Ruby or you. I want to be a huntress, but that means I have to learn to deal with my anger and I don't know if I'm strong enough. I've told you what my anger is to me, to leave that behind. I'm not sure if it's possible. But I know it won't be if I have to do this alone. I need you Blake."

Blake felt so sorry for the girl in her arms. All her life, contrary to appearances, Yang had been alone. Blake spoke the four most heartfelt words of her life. "I'm here for you."

Yang's head lifted off her shoulder and she turned to look Blake in the eyes, their faces inches apart and bathed in the orange light of the setting sun. Heart pulsating at the proximity her partner, Blake's gaze roamed over her. The red rimmed eyes, the full cheeks marred by renewed streak marks, but she was drawn to the portals to her partner's soul.

Earlier Yang had looked lifeless, but now, after her outpouring of grief, of torment, perhaps unburdening herself for the first time in her life, the spark that made Yang special had returned. The softest brush of velvet caused her to blush, the crimson flooding from where Yang's incredibly smooth lips were pressed against her cheek.

Yang drew back and spoke, her voice overflowing with emotion. "You're the best person I've ever met." She snuggled back into her partner, returning her head to Blake's shoulder.

Blake didn't know how to respond to that so, as she so often did, she remained silent. As the sun dipped behind the horizon, the last orange rays of the day lingered in the air giving the forest an ethereal glow. In the past Blake might have given it the briefest glance but now, with her best friend nuzzling into her, their collective heat wrapping around them like the most comforting blanket, Blake felt her breath vacate her lungs at the sight before her.

Before, sunset had been the herald to action. The prequel before the cover of night. It was simply a time to prepare. She’d never just sat and watched it progress. Where was the point? Beauty seldom brings solace to the solitary sufferer.

So many of the issues that Yang raised had resonated deeply within her and, in her reaction to them, she had sunk deeper than she’d thought possible. After casting herself away from that life, it was the girl next to her that had caught her. Raised her up and taught her how to live. Clutching her best friend on the rose covered couch, for the first time in years, Blake could see the true majesty of the evening. And though the power of it caused her heart to flutter, the real beauty was in the person she shared it with.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: It always annoyed me how the show presents Yang being stronger when angry, when in fact out of control anger is the last thing you want in the fight, so this chapter went some way to dealing with that. As usual thanks for reading and please leave a review.


	6. Chapter 6

In the darkened dormitory Ruby rolled from her bed. He gaze caught on Weiss’ unmade one. Momentarily she worried that Weiss had returned to her old ways. They had made great progress since that fateful moonlit talk in the forest. In the nights that followed Weiss had woken her when she was unable to sleep and, on rare occasions, she’d even spoken about what was troubling her.

It was painful that Weiss still didn't feel comfortable talking to her but, at the same time, she wasn't all that concerned. Problems as extensive as Weiss' weren't overcome quickly. After they’d talked or she had just held Weiss comfortingly, they would either go and train, or she’d pull Weiss into the lower bunk after her, providing the warmth that allowed her to slip into a dreamless sleep.

Weiss was always reluctant to follow her into bed, most likely out of embarrassment at what the other two would say if they found out. Little did she know both already knew and were just happy that Weiss was making progress. Even if Yang had snapped pictures to use for undoubtedly nefarious purposes later.

No, Weiss' bed was unmade meaning she hadn't left the room yet. She was a stickler for neatness and would never dream of leaving her portion of the room untidy no matter the situation. It was about the time they would normally wake for morning training, though with the tournament starting today, she’d thought about forgoing it. Weiss most likely wanted extra practice before her match later.

They’d been training every morning under the tutelage of Erashan—Blake and Yang as well. Ruby hadn't forgiven him for what he had done to her sister. She was unable to shake the terrible images of Yang taking blow after painful blow.

Despite his supposed good intentions and Yang herself seemingly having made her peace, she was unable to reconcile with him just yet. However, Ruby did have to admit that they had all made great progress under his watchful gaze. His recommendations, though simple, were incredibly effective.

A noise from the bathroom drew her attention and she padded over on silent feet. A figure in a light blue nightgown hunched over the toilet. Weiss appeared utterly miserable and, as Ruby watched, she retched again, a pitiful sound leaving her at the fruitless action.

"Oh, Weiss," Ruby said softly, sorrow in her voice.

She knelt beside her friend, gathering soft platinum hair into her hands saving it from its precarious position on the toilet seat. Weiss flinched at the touch, but any other reaction was curtailed as she convulsed once more over the clear water. Ruby, as she seemed to be doing so often lately, rubbed circles into the skin of her partners back.

After several more minutes Weiss slumped to the floor, hand on her stomach, her small frame resting against Ruby's.

"Weiss, are you sick?" Ruby didn't think so as nothing had come up, but wanted to make sure anyway.

Weiss shook her head.

"Then what's wrong? You know you can talk to me about anything."

Weiss to reply before hesitating. The pause hurt Ruby and it was clearly audible in her voice. "Don't you trust me?"

Weiss span round desperation in her eyes. "I do." She held onto Ruby like a life line. "You're the person I trust most. It's just… difficult. I've never really confided in anyone before you. At home there was no one, except Erashan and I couldn't go to him in public lest father remove him. I'm trying to open up to you, but it's so hard. In my heart I know how good you are, how much you want to help me, but there's always a nagging doubt that all you want to do is find the opening to hurt me. As much as I try I just can't get rid of it. I'm sorry, but it's just who I am." She looked down despondently.

Ruby couldn't help but feel angry, every time they made progress there was another layer of pain resting just beneath the surface. The heat flowing through her veins was not directed at the girl in her arms, but instead at the family who it seemed had tormented Weiss throughout her entire life.

"Weiss, I am not going to give up on you. I know how hard you're trying and I'll be here for you. No matter how long it takes." She pulled Weiss into hug made awkward by their positioning on the floor. Her partner seemed to melt with the relief that she wouldn't be abandoned. "So do you think you can tell me what's wrong?"

Weiss took a deep, steadying breath before replying. "My father sent me a message."

"And?" It couldn't have been anything good.

"He said he would be in Vale to see me win the tournament. That's what he expects me to do, win."

"But… You're only a first year. First years never win the whole thing."

"But I'm not a first year. I'm a Schnee, and Schnees don't come second. That's what I have to do if I am to keep my place here, beat everybody.”

"Look Weiss, I don't know your father and I can't pretend to understand your relationship with him. But to run the SDC he must be intelligent. There's no reasonable way that he can expect you to win the entire thing. He must know that. No matter what he says. Winter said they were only concerned with public opinion about you. If you do well in the tournament, win some matches, gather some fans, you'll have done the complete opposite of what they are worried about. You will have improved the Schnee name, not disgraced it. Then there would be no way for them to remove you without garnering bad publicity. With all the extra training we've been putting in, I've never seen you fight better than you have been. You'll easily be able to reach the later rounds and then who knows what will happen?" She was heartened by the look of hope that appeared on Weiss' face.

"Thank you Ruby, for putting up with me. I'm sorry I keep dragging you into all my problems. You're incredible, you know that don't you?"

Ruby's cheeks caught fire at the compliment and the tiled floor suddenly became very interesting as muttered something inaudible.

Weiss rose gracefully pulling Ruby up after her. "I would say we should get ready to train, but I think you need a shower first."

The heiress turned away in disgust as Ruby sniffed her armpit. "I don't smell that bad and I'm going to sweat anyway."

"I suggest you look in the mirror." Weiss could barely keep herself from laughing.

The mirror Ruby backed up her partner's claim, her usual messy morning hair was compounded by the drool from her sleep which had been smeared through it and subsequently dried. It stuck up at obtuse angles and that was ignoring the crusty deposits left all over her face. Embarrassment flooded through her at the thought that she had been talking to Weiss like this, Yang she could have coped with, but not Weiss. "Yeah, I think I'll take that shower."

Weiss stopped on the threshold before turning back to see her scarlet face. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, and don't worry about your fight later. You'll be fine."

* * *

 

"You'll be fine, Jaune," Pyrrha said from where she was sitting on the bench across from him.

He didn't feel fine. He didn't feel even remotely close to fine. The hard wooden slats dug into his backside, and he couldn't understand why the seats in the locker rooms of the main stadium were so uncomfortable. Like he didn't have enough to worry about already. A rapid tapping noise audible over the muted roar of the crowd above only added to his aggravation. How was he meant to prepare with that racket?

It was the moment he had been dreading for weeks. Ever since he had been stupid enough to enter his name to compete in the tournament. He had no idea why he had let Pyrrha talk him into it. It was ridiculous. There was no way her would be able to compete, even with the extra training he had been doing. There was only one option. He would have to withdraw.

"Jaune…" Concern was evident in Pyrrha’s voice.

He followed her gaze to his right leg which was beating a staccato rhythm into the ground, completely independent of any conscious thought. Grasping his thigh firmly, the aggravating noise died away.

"Jaune, it's ok to be nervous. Everyone sitting where you are will be nervous. Even I still get nervous before every single fight. But I can promise you one thing. The moment you step into the arena, any nervousness you may be feeling will vanish and you will begin to enjoy yourself."

 _Enjoy himself?_ He would have laughed if he wasn't sure he would throw up. There was no way Pyrrha could ever feel even remotely like he was right now. She could go out into that hell and know that she wasn't going to humiliate herself.

"We've practiced for this fight. You know what he's going to do. How he's going to attack. All you have to do is remember everything we've done together and you'll be able to win. You've improved so much in such a small space of time. I believe in you Jaune. I know you can do this."

Now she was lying to him. He knew she didn't truly believe he would win. When they sparred he couldn't even touch her unless she let him. She didn't think he saw all the pitying looks, all the times she stumbled just to boost his ego, but he did. She wanted him to go out there and face the giant first year from Vacuo. He began to feel dizzy as his breath rushed in and out in short, sharp bursts and he closed his eyes to shut her out. No, she knew he didn't have the slightest chance. She probably just wanted to laugh at him.

"Jaune…" In the depths of his misery he missed the concern that was now apparent in her voice. "Jaune, you need to calm down. Jaune!" She placed a hand on his knee and shook him. "Breathe. Jaune, you need to breathe."

In his own private circle of hell, the words bounced from pounding in his ears. The latent heat of the stagnant air in the room cooked him in his armour. White lights flashed behind his closed eyelids and sharp claws sank into his brain, twisting mercilessly.

Then… a caress. The lightest brush of the warmest velvet danced over his lips. Eyes still closed, his entire being centred on the feeling, unsure of its source. It was warm and soft and delicate and his lips tingled, but most of all it was nice. Overwhelmingly nice. Enveloped in the niceness of it all, his other concerns simply melted away.

A sense of déjà vu, it felt almost exactly like a… his eyes shot open. There was Pyrrha, far closer than he had ever seen her before. He could count the pale freckles dusting her light skin, freckles he hadn't known had existed until this moment. See every blood vessel surrounding her brilliant green eyes.

Loss. A terrible absence of touch, of feeling. Loss so acute it could only be described as pain. The nerve endings in his lips cried out for a return to the bliss that had enraptured them and his entire being whole heartedly agreed. He sought around for the cure before his conscious mind gradually began to gain some headway against the flood of chemicals that had been released in his brain.

"Are you calm now?" Pyrrha's eyes positively sparkled as she spoke, a hint of a blush on her cheeks.

His mouth opened and closed several times without making a sound and he had to resort to moving his head up and down erratically.

"Good." Lips that he had never realised were so unbelievably soft turned up at the corners as she leant back and watched him, enjoying his reaction. "I can't say that I ever imagined it would happen like that, but I think it lived up to expectations."

 _Wait! Did she like him?_ No, there was no way Pyrrha Nikos would go for a guy like him. She could have anyone she wanted. She would never pick him. And yet. She kissed him. _Does that mean?_

Why did girls always have to be so confusing? Why couldn't they just be simple and give him a sign that they liked him? It didn't even have to be something large like a bouquet of flowers. Just the smallest indication of their intent he would have picked up on it. And yet Pyrrha had just sprung this on him, without the slightest hint she was interested. No indicators or anything.

"Well, did you like it?"

 _Did he?_ The way his body had reacted, put his answer firmly in the yes column. "Yes," he managed to croak through the arid landscape of his mouth.

"Then perhaps you'd like to do it again, after you win," Pyrrha said with a playful look on her face.

 _Do it again._ Did that mean she wanted to go out with him? Him going out with Pyrrha Nikos. The kiss had been incredible and she was pretty and smart and funny and good at everything she did an— _win. Crap. The fight._ The entire reason for him being in this room had been completely washed away as he strove to come to terms with what had happened.

"Uhh… Yeah I think I would," he answered and she beamed in response. To see that expression, that rapturous joy, and to know that he was the cause of it sent his stomach tumbling.

Any thoughts of the tournament slipped away again as they lost themselves in each other's eyes. Time passed, seconds stretched to days as they gravitated towards each other once more, intent only on resampling the taste and texture of the opposite number's lips.

"Did you see when I smashed him into the ground?" The door slammed open rebounding off the wall as Nora's excited tones filled the room. Pyrrha and Jaune sprung apart, both finding a sudden interest in interior decorating.

"Yes, Nora." Ren's stoicism followed her into the room.

Nora bounced over to them, still covered in sand and grime, her dress singed but an ear to ear grin was stretching her mouth. "So how's your preparation going Jaune?"

Jaune had to cough before answering. "Uhh, well."

"Good and it looks like you've been really helpful in taking his mind off it Pyrrha."

Pyrrha was bright red as she replied. "Yes, well… I always find it helps to be relaxed."

"He certainly looks relaxed. I don't think you need to worry there." Nora was thoroughly enjoying, tormenting her two teammates. "But there's one part of him which might need just a little more of your help to _relax_." She said with a suggestive glance at the bulge in his jeans.

Pyrrha appeared mortified at Nora's behaviour even more colour flooding her face before she hid behind her hands. Meanwhile Jaune was desperately trying to breathe through a coughing fit, but had enough presence of mind to expand his shield over his crotch. Nora laughed manically at their reactions while Ren stood by her side, a small smile on his lips.

"So when ar—"

Jaune was saved by a loud buzz that echoed through the room. The screens on the wall all illuminated with his name. His heart raced as he stood on quivering legs, gathering his weapons.

Pyrrha addressed him, face still red. "Jaune, I know you going to be fine."

"Good luck Jaune," Ren said with a nod.

"Break a leg." Nora slapped Jaune on the back before pausing. "No wait, don't break a leg. Break his legs!”

The door to the tunnel swung shut with a resounding boom. Footsteps echoed off of the bare white walls as Jaune began the long walk towards the distant rectangle of light.

The murmurings of anticipative conversations among the crowd grew louder as he continued his relentless march. Every movement squeezed his full bladder, threatening eternal embarrassment before he even made it to the arena. His mouth was an arid desert and he was unable to understand the lack of equilibrium in his body. Legs quivering, he paused just before the threshold.

"Come on Jaune, you can do this. You were born to do this."

Affixing a smile that was much more like a pain-filled grimace he stepped through the doorway. Blinding light. Scorching heat. Deafening sound. Jaune stumbled under the onslaught of sensations.

"From our very own Beacon Academy, leader of team JNPR, Mr Jaune Arc!" The announcement issued from huge speakers spaced throughout the stadium.

The local crowd roared in support of their champion. A change overcame Jaune. He spun around, looking at the screaming faces, and came to a realisation. They were screaming for him. The vast majority of the crowd were there to support him. To them, he wasn't someone who had forged their way into Beacon. He wasn't someone who had only started proper combat training a few months prior. No, he was an elite huntsman. A leader of a team at the prestigious academy.

Just as Pyrrha had said it would, all of his worries, his nervousness, had vanished in the cauldron of frenzied atmosphere. His bladder was no longer fit to burst, his mouth no longer dry, his legs no longer shook. Standing tall, he raised an arm in a solemn salute and the crowd responded the volume of their adulation increasing with renewed vigour.

The smile on his lips became genuine. He marched towards the centre of the arena, anticipation rife within him. He sparred with Pyrrha _freaking_ Nikos. How was his opponent meant to compare to that? He could win this. No, he was going to win this.

"Hailing from Vacuo, Mr Lesnik Otso." The cheers from the crowd were less pronounced than they had been for the home favourite, but the arena still shook from the deluge of noise.

Jaune's newfound confidence drained away as his opponent uncoiled himself from where he had been forced to duck to get through the door to the arena. Pyrrha had told him his opponent was large, but this was ridiculous.

Even Yatsuhashi would have been a head shorter than him, and his biceps were twice the size of Jaune's thighs. It was easy to see why, he thrust a huge two handed maul into the air. A trickle of saliva passed down Jaune's throat as he gulped at the prospect of trying to block that monstrous weapon on his shield.

Lesnik walked towards the centre of the oval with thumping steps that caused little clouds of sand to billow out from underneath the boats he had strapped to his feet. He only grew larger. _This is getting stupid now._

Despite the intimidating presence of his opponent, Jaune managed to pull of flawless bow, left hand on sword hilt, right arm across his chest. The ode to the traditional heraldic days of the past was something that Pyrrha had suggested to win him supporters and the crowd responded.

Retreating to his starting point, Jaune drew his sword and affixed his shield to his left arm. The passage of time slowed to a crawl as the two combatants sized each other up, looking for the slightest advantage in the coming contest. His opponent was huge, but that meant he would be slow. If he could block most of Pyrrha's strikes, he should have no trouble dodging his. Plan firmly settled upon Jaune waited, poised on the balls of his feet.

Upon the crash of the bell, his opponent charged forward, a blood curdling roar issuing from his lungs, the maul held high above his head. Jaune threw himself backwards, only just avoiding the hit that cratered the ground. His strategy was in tatters. Lesnik was in no way slow. Jaune thrust forward recklessly, striking his opponents midsection before a one handed swing crashed into his shield. The force behind the blow was staggering.

 _Right, let's not do that again._ Even while thinking that he had subconsciously ducked beneath another attack, the hours of pain at the hands of Pyrrha paying off. Jaune surged into the opening, shield crashing into his opponent, robbing him of the last of his balance. The crowd cheered as Jaune stepped back. Bred on childhood stories of honour, he gestured for his opponent to rise. A new found look of respect in his brown eyes, Lesnik took the invitation before they smashed together again.

As much as it would have been unthinkable an hour ago, Jaune couldn't keep the exultant smile off his face. Somehow, he was actually enjoying this. Dancing back and forth, the exchange of blows. It was actually fun.

But it couldn't last. Every one of his strikes was preceded by one of his opponent's. Every glance at the screens showed his Aura closer to the red than Lesnik's. He knew he had to alter the flow of the combat and the window of opportunity was rapidly shrinking if he was to play his trump card. Mind made up, he gathered his will and started forward.

The pristine sand beneath his foot gave way. He slipped, his left arm swinging out in an attempt to maintain his balance. His shield went with it, exposing his side and his opponent struck, glee in his eyes. Unable to block the strike, Jaune braced himself, gathering his Aura around the point of impact, solidifying its presence.

A pulsing white light blinded the audience as the impact ran through him. The great maul rested lightly against his ribs, the blow that should have shattered them all but ineffectual. Spinning, his blade slashed down. Something gave way in his opponent's right wrist and the sound of anguish tore at his ears.

That was the move that he and Pyrrha had spent so much time working on. He still didn't know if the flash was the first hint of his Semblance, or if it was just energy being released from his immensely strong Aura, but it was his secret weapon.

Ever since the time in the forest of Forever Fall, he had tried to recreate the phenomenon with only partial success. Even Pyrrha was unsure why he was having so much trouble discovering his Semblance. She’d proposed he might have some sort of mental block which he would only overcome in time.

He might not have been the most versatile on the attack when compared to some of his contemporaries, but he could take a beating. Now it was out of the bag the tactic was sure to be less effective, but it had allowed him to get far further than he had ever thought was possible and win the first round.

The crescendo of cheers and a glance at the monitors showed though his aura was dangerously close to the red, his opponent's was hanging on the precipice just above it. Lesnik backed away from him, face screwed up in pain, waving his weapon ineffectually side to side with his weaker hand.

Basking in his glory Jaune followed, waiting for the opportunity to finish his opponent. As the maul swept passed he helped it on his way before using his shield to force Lesnik to the floor. Earlier he had let him rise, but that time had passed.

A smile on triumph on his face he lifted his sword. In a last desperate act, the maul was raised to his face. _Nice try but it won't save you._ As Jaune swung downwards, his attention snagged on the opening at the top of the haft. _Why is it hollow?_ A ghost of a memory flitted through his mind. It seemed like it was important. The hint of flash and he remembered.

* * *

 

Nails dug into his eyes as barbed wire was raked along his spine. The return to consciousness was not particularly pleasant for the knight of Vale.

"Owwww…" Jaune moaned.

"Jaune. Can you hear me?" Pyrrha's voice was distant.

Sore eyelids cracked open. The blinding light only added to his discomfort. A slender hand provided solace from the illumination. As his pupils contracted, he followed the arm up to carmine framed face.

Despite himself he smiled at her, ignoring the pain flaring through the muscles in his cheek. It was odd how much could change in a few hours. A few hours ago he’d been terrified of what would happen in the arena. A few hours ago his insides wouldn't have squirmed as she returned his smile.

He tried to speak, but could only gurgle through a parched throat. Wondrously cool water slipped through his cracked lips.

"Don't swallow, let it trickle down your throat," Pyrrha said, her hand supporting his neck.

He followed her advice and was rewarded by the soothing embrace of liquid relief. "Thank you.” His voice was still hoarse.

"You had us all worried you know." Nora was sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the bed. They weren’t in their dorm room. They were surrounded by septic white walls and furniture. A hospital then. "But it was pretty funny."

"Nora! How are you feeling Jaune?" Pyrrha placed a palm on his forehead. "Your temperature is fine." She glanced at the screens next to his bed. "But your pulse is racing. We should probably get a nurse."

She made to get up. Ren placed a hand on her shoulder. "You know, I don't believe there is any correlation between his injuries and his racing heart."

"But then wh- oh." Pyrrha cut off, her cheeks attempting to match her hair.

"What do you remember Jaune?" Nora asked.

"Umm… I was winning. He was on the ground, then… umm… ah." His brain recovered the crucial piece of information it had misplaced earlier. He grimaced in embarrassment. It hurt.

"Yes, _ah_. I would think it's rather crucial to know all about your opponent’s weapon. To know what it is? How they use it? And whether or not they can shoot you in the face with it? I'm pretty sure I heard Pyrrha go through all that with you." Nora didn’t show him any mercy in regards to his current state.

"I forgot," Jaune said sheepishly.

"But up till that point you did marvellously. You were seconds from winning. Could you have even imagined such a thing a few months ago? I'm so proud of you." Pyrrha squeezed his shoulder.

"There's still fifteen minutes left until visiting hours are over. Ren and I could leave if you want a bit of private time to reward each other properly,” Nora grinned lewdly.

Jaune was oblivious of the not so subtle undertones, but Pyrrha was scandalised. "Nora!"

Nora put her foot down both metaphorically and literally, the sound echoing around the small room. "No, you listen here. I had to sit in silence while you two absolute idiots danced around each other, when you could have simply confessed and got it over with. Instead I had to listen to all your convoluted moaning and I kept quiet out of respect of your confidence. Despite how much I wanted to do the intelligent thing and simply lock you in a cupboard together. So now that you two have finally woken up, I am going to tease you at every opportunity I get, and you are going to be grateful about it because it means that you are together. And I am not going to hear a single word in complaint. Do I make myself clear?"

"But if Pyrrha had only given me a sign I wou-" Jaune cut off as Pyrrha gave an undignified splutter.

Nora mouth fell open. "You really are the densest person I have ever met. Come on Ren." She walked to the door, dragging Ren with her. "You have your work cut out with this one Pyrrha." The door settled closed behind the pair.

Jaune and Pyrrha avoided eye contact for several minutes, taking sudden interest in muted television in the corner of the room.

Eventually Jaune brought the uncomfortable silence to an end. "Ok, maybe I might have missed some signs." He didn’t know for the life of him what they were.

"And I suppose I could have just talked to you. I think we're both to blame here." Pyrrha looked away from his face again before returning to his eyes. "But is this… us… what you want?"

He didn't need any time to think about it. "Yes, I mean if you…"

"Of course I do, but, umm how's this going to work? Living together and all." Pyrrha showed none of her usual grace. This particular tactical terrain was not one she’d practiced on.

"Umm… I think we should take it slowly. Go on dates and things. See how it goes."

"That sounds… nice, and if it goes well, who knows?”

Jaune pulled his hand from under his covers and found hers, their fingers interlocking as if they were corresponding pieces of a puzzle. "Yes, that does sound nice."

They marvelled in the sensation of touch, for a few more moments letting it encompass and define their collective beings. And through that symbolic joining, as so many have found before them in the cruel world, they found a connection.

It is said that for every sunrise, there is a sunset; for every key, there is a lock; for every person there is another. Most will never find their match, their opposite, and yet the person they need to complete themselves. Their soulmate. In this strife torn world the chances of the two meeting are tiny. And yet. It happens.

Perhaps it is fate, or chance, or a cosmic entity playing with its toys. Why ever it happens, the lucky few, across a crowded café, a busy street, their eyes will meet and in that glance they will just know. They will unavoidably be drawn together, guided by whatever they believe in. They will talk. They will laugh. They will kiss. And most of all they will live. Complete.

But for too many their eyes never meet. They are too busy to look wistfully through a crowd in hope of finding connection. Too sure of themselves to realise what they are missing and they will rush past their soulmate. Their one opportunity of meeting snuffed out.

Some get another chance. Some don't feel the instant connection. But they feel something. So they watch. They sit. They build up courage, before approaching and surrendering themselves. In that moment they can be cast aside or perhaps, the feeling is reciprocated. And, if they are lucky, if they have won the universal game of chance, they will have beaten the odds and found their other half. They will live. They will kiss. They will be completed, but it all starts with something breathtakingly simple. Something taken for granted in the harsh world. The path to bliss begins with a touch.

They were pulled back to the present by a rapping on the glass of the door, a nurse pointing at the clock.

"It looks like I have to go." Pyrrha leaned down to kiss him and Jaune lost himself in the taste and texture of her lips. "Sleep well Jaune." With her delicious mouth right next to his ear, her voice was whisper quiet and husky. "And dream of me." Ignoring his coughing fit, she glided from the room.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I really write some sappy endings, but Arkos so yay.


	7. Chapter 7

"Excuse me." Weiss squeezed passed the people already sitting on the way to her seat, making sure to keep Myrtenaster pressed to her thigh. Like most of those with huntsman licences—provisional or otherwise —after what had happened she’d decided to bring her weapon with her wherever she went.

Spectators filtered back into the stadium in the lull between bouts. Though not quite as imposing as the main arena, the amphitheatre was still an impressive display of architectural prowess, with thin gossamer strands of metal holding up a crystalline roof over the seats.

It was really rather. The architects had done well. Knowing that they wouldn't be able to compete with the arena funded by the SDC they had moved along a different path. The SDC's contribution was meant to be imposing. Meant to showcase the power of the company. Whereas this stadium was smaller, more intimate, intended to impress the attendees through artistic merit and the generated atmosphere.

With nothing to do Weiss began looking at the latest information from the tournament. The draw for the next round hadn’t occurred yet, but she felt quietly confident regardless of whoever she was drawn up against.

The talk with Ruby had helped as it so often did. That morning, upon discovering the ominous message from her father, she’d had been practically crippled with fear. Buried beneath the weight of the excessive expectation he’d shovelled on top of her, she’d regressed to how she was just a few weeks before. She should have woken Ruby but, in her panic, she’d once again forgotten her promise to her partner.

And yet, Ruby was still there for her. Ruby had not abandoned her as she deserved. As everyone else would have done at the continual betrayal. Once again, Ruby had forgiven her. Sat next to her. Stroked her hair and rubbed her back as her insides squirmed. Held her and discussed her problems.

On numerous occasions her father had drilled into her that the weak deserved no help, no respite from their suffering. It was for them to pull themselves up, and if they were unable, they should be left to rot. That was one of the maxims that he lived by and she had been its victim more times than she could count. That was the foremost lesson she learnt from her childhood. The only person she could rely upon was herself. That there was no one who would tolerate her weakness.

Before coming to Beacon she’d thought that the absolute truth, an irrevocable statement about the world, but Ruby had put lie to her beliefs. She had not been raised in an unloving and cold household. She’d always had people there for her, and she’d learnt another way to deal with weakness.

It was what made Ruby so special. She didn't turn away in disgust. No matter how many times Weiss stumbled, Ruby would always be there to pick her back up. Weiss now realised that her breeding didn't make her superior to the common rabble as she had always been told. If Ruby was any indication, the frozen heart at the centre of every Schnee made then inferior in every way that actually mattered.

They may have wealth and power, but sitting atop their ivory towers they missed everything that made life worth living. Through Ruby she had experienced some of the heady joys that most took for granted: laughter, companionship, friendship, happiness. The subtle things that had been foreign to her before Beacon. Ruby was the embodiment of all the values that she treasured.

Ruby had alleviated her worries that morning and the belief that her partner had showed in her carried her through her fight. It hadn't been nearly as bad as she had feared; sparring with the other members of her team and occasionally Pyrrha, her confidence in her prowess had been lowered.

Her opponent in the first round had seemed to be moving through treacle in comparison to Ruby; she hadn’t had to split her attention to watch her back as she would against Blake's Shadows; he hadn’t had the raw brutal power of Yang; and he certainly hadn’t been able to hold a candle to Pyrrha.

It had almost been laughably easy to dodge his attacks and he’d simply been unable unable to cope. But he fought with honour, and so she’d ended it efficiently and as quickly as she could. She could respect that. Unlike her family she didn't feel any derision towards him. He hadn't been tutored privately by a veteran huntsman, and he wasn't lucky enough to be surrounded by the people who she trained with. He had tried his best, and in her opinion that was enough.

The reaction of the crowd to her appearance had been somewhat of a shock. She was used to being treated with subtle respect mixed with fear, or quiet, or sometimes even outright, hostility. So for her name to be cheered to the metaphorical rafters completely threw her off balance. It wasn't just she was representing the local academy, and it wasn't just that people had seen her in action after the breach in Vale.

It was also that in their opinions, even though she was a rich socialite who could have had a life of easy luxury, she had instead chosen to train in one of the most dangerous professions there is. To be their selfless protector and it gained her supporters.

The single reason that she believed had managed to sway her father to allow her to attend Beacon, to gain favour from the population, seemed to be working. She would be able to cultivate them until her father didn't have a choice to allow her to remain.

A small tug on her sleeve drew her attention to the seat next to her. Wide eyes in a face framed by shoulder length black hair stared back. "Umm… Are you Weiss Schnee?" The little girl spoke nervously her voice quivering under the azure gaze of the heiress.

Her mother sitting on the other side of her glanced up as her daughter spoke, and she drew in a breath at the sight of Weiss' alabaster locks. "Please let me apologise for the intrusion Miss Schnee. Honey, leave her in peace."

There was the usual fear that most experienced at the sound of her name. It didn't pay for normal people to get on the wrong side of those in power. But she was trying to change. She had deliberately chosen to sit in the general crowd rather than the more expensive, reserved seats.

The girl's face had fallen as she turned away, her lower lip trembling at her mother's rebuke. Wearing a vibrant pink dress with matching ribbons holding her hair in pigtails and with large brown eyes, she looked positively adorable. Weiss’ heart thawed. "It's quite alright." She flashed the mother one of her best smiles before turning her attention to girl. "Yes, I'm Weiss Schnee, and what's your name?"

"A-Amber." Weiss couldn't help but notice the effect she was having on the girl.

"That's a very beautiful name, but it's not nearly as beautiful as you are."

Amber blushed, only increasing her adorableness before she hesitantly spoke again. "I think you're the beautifullest person I've ever seen."

Weiss blushed despite herself. "Thank you. That was a very nice thing to say, but I'm sure you'll grow up to be far prettier than I am." Amber looked at her mother in disbelief, and Weiss was caught up in how much she was enjoying the interaction.

As surprising as it might be for her teammates to find out, she actually liked young children. Though others might think she'd hate their lack of social etiquette and behaviour, she found it positively invigorating. Having grown up in the cut throat world of high society, where every conversation concealed a dozen hidden undertones, children were refreshing.

They were honest. If they wanted something they would just ask for it. They wouldn't hold a grudge for years if it was denied to them. Children treated her as a person, not as a Schnee. They hadn't had a chance for the world to shape their perceptions of her. They addressed her just how they saw her in that moment.

An adult from a lower social class would never have dared pull on her sleeve, but Amber had. Even Weiss' usual desire to correct any errant speech or grammar died around children. She could only think how cute the made up words were.

"Have you been enjoying the festival Amber?"

"Yes, it's been the bestest. First we went to the shops and I got a necklace from Atlas," she showed it to Weiss proudly. "Then we went to the beach and I got an ice cream and then…" Amber continued to excitedly rattle off everything she had done since the beginning of the festival and Weiss couldn't help but smile broadly at such unfettered joy.

Children were unburdened by the harsh realities of the world. The extent of their worries consisted of the next meal, and a cheap mass-produced piece of jewellery could be a priceless treasure. "But the best was when we watched you on the screen in the park. I had sandwiches and cake, but you were the best part. You were so fast and pretty and good and clever and I want to be a huntress like you one day."

Weiss felt touched that she had had such an effect on even one person watching. The plan to become well loved by the crowd had been devised for purely selfish reasons, just so she could remain where she was happy. Now, under the admiring gaze of Amber, she was forced to reassess her desires. If she was really having this effect on some of the people watching, she owed it to them to not treat the tournament as simply a means to an end.

"You could be a huntress one day, but it's very difficult. You'll have to work really hard in school because huntresses have to be clever, but I'm sure you could manage it. You seem to be really smart."

"Really? You think I could be like you?" Amber's eyes were wide.

"You definitely could. I even think you could win the tournament when you compete in it."

"Wow." Amber's mother was watching the two of them with an appreciative, if somewhat surprised, expression on her face. Obviously not expecting such a pleasant interaction from a Schnee.

To Weiss' eye she looked young, mid-twenties at oldest. She’d obviously had Amber when she was a teenager. Judging by the absence of a ring on her finger and the lack of presence or mention of a father, she probably raised Amber alone. Weiss couldn't begin to imagine how difficult that must have been for her. It made most of her problems seem small.

Her worries consisted of whether she would be allowed to remain at Beacon, and how to deal with a boyfriend she didn't like. Not how to keep a young child clothed and fed without having the accounts of a multi-national corporation a click away. But judging by the utterly contented look on her face as she observed how much her daughter had enjoyed herself, it seemed today at least, as though it was working out.

Amber's gaze kept flitting back to the weapon at Weiss' hip. "Can I touch it?" She gestured towards Myrtenaster.

Weiss felt a momentary bout of hesitation, but she didn't see what harm it could if she was cautious. She waited for the mother’s nod before replying. "Yes, but remember it's not a toy, and you have to be very careful."

After double checking that the safety for the Dust mechanism was on, she bade Amber stand in front of her and reached around guiding Amber's small hand around the hilt. Even though Myrtenaster was a rapier—and consequently much lighter than the monstrosity Ruby wielded—Amber would have had trouble handling it if not for Weiss' grip maintaining full control of the weapon.

Weiss guided her through a few gentle swings and thrusts over the vacant seats before them. After a couple of minutes of slaying invisible enemies in which their antics had attracted attention from all those around them as well as the flash of cameras, Weiss brought their session to an end. As she retook her seat Amber beamed from ear to ear and her mother looked just as happy. Weiss let them talk to each other, revelling in overhearing a normal pleasant conversation between family members. When they were quiet for a time, Weiss spoke to the girl next to her.

"Are you looking forward to watching the fight Amber?"

"Yes, but I wanted to watch you, but mummy said we couldn't afford it." Her face fell and Weiss could see her mother's embarrassment at the reveal of their financial situation to a multi-millionaire.

Luckily this problem unlike so many that she faced was easily solved. "Amber, would you like some tickets to my next duel? If it's ok with your mother of course?"

Amber's eyes suddenly lit up, dimples reforming in her cheeks as the beaming grin jumped back onto her lips. "Can we mum, pleeeeeeease?"

Her mother's resolve not to accept charity lasted around a femtosecond under the wide eyed gaze of her daughter. "Yes we can. That's very kind of you Miss Schnee."

"Weiss please." They exchanged contact information over Ambers head ̶ ̶ Weiss learning that she was called Lyra ̶ ̶ while said head bounced up and down, pigtails vibrating excitedly as the first combatant emerged.

Amber leaned against Weiss chattering about everything she could remember about the person who had emerged. Weiss was proud of herself that she didn't recoil from the physical contact, as she would have before Beacon. She instead found a feeling much like contentment in the bundle of enthusiastic heat. Just another thing to be thankful to Ruby about.

The voice of the announcer echoed throughout he stands. "From Haven, Neptune Vasilias." He walked out, basking in the cheers.

"His hair's silly." Amber's innocent remark caused Weiss to release an undignified giggle. It really was.

This was of course the reason why she was here by herself, rather than with the rest of her team watching Penny fight in the main stadium. As it turned out it was good they hadn't come with her. Sitting with her team as usual she would never have encountered Amber.

Neptune had finished revelling in the warmth from the crowd and, as the cheers died down, he cast around, searching until his gaze locked on the distinctive appearance of Weiss. To the delight of the entire stadium he theatrically blew her a kiss. Weiss found herself staring at the large screen opposite which held a close-up of her face.

Now it made sense why Neptune had requested that she sit in the stands rather than meet him in the preparation rooms. He’d wanted to show the whole world who his girlfriend was. A breath-taking smile displaying pearl white teeth had slipped onto her face without conscious thought under the scrutiny of the lenses, and she raised a slim hand in acknowledgment.

If not for the way Neptune had treated her during their dinner with Winter she wouldn't have minded. She’d been a trophy to be displayed all her life. A tarnished trophy, but a trophy nonetheless. It was just part of who she was raised to be, but that he had obviously settled on the lesser Schnee was what irked her. She knew who he would rather be blowing kisses to.

Their relationship had been somewhat frayed after that evening. Though it was mostly from her end. Winter had plied Neptune with wine throughout the meal and he said that most of his memories of what happened were hazy. She found it easier to just go along with the excuse.

Amber crawled into her lap to try and get on the screen and her antics caused some of the irritation she was feeling to evaporate. Weiss let her perch on her knee as Amber waved to the camera, the shot obviously pleasing the director who didn't cut away.

Though not what she had envisaged when she had sat down, it was proving a fruitful afternoon. She supposed it was unfair to be angry with Neptune for using her, when she was doing exactly the same to him. The images of a young girl on her knee would be broadcast around the planet.

Neptune and his adversary had taken their places in the centre of the oval and upon the commencement of the bout, it only took a few brief exchanges for Weiss' trained eye to see what the outcome would be. For all his numerous flaws, Neptune was very talented in combat. He was able to read all his opponent’s moves and dodging before hitting back, his weapon alternating between its three forms.

He was far better than his opponent, and his opponent knew it. Desperation crept into his movement as he tried every technique he knew to put Neptune on the back foot. The effort was futile. Neptune fought brilliantly, gradually draining his adversary's Aura while his remained almost untouched.

Struggling to stay on his feet, the student from Bastion committed to a last ditch swing of his weapon and electricity arced from its core. Neptune ducked under the attack and Weiss waited for the inevitable final blow. It never came.

Instead Neptune's foot lashed out, striking his opponent and throwing him to the sand. Rather than follow, Neptune gestured for him to rise disdainfully. His opponent rushed at him in rage. Neptune merely sidestepped with a dramatic flourish and kicked his opponent's ankle out from under him. Neptune yawned.

Only someone who really knew Weiss would have seen the slight tightening of the muscles around her eyes which conveyed the disgust she was feeling. Neptune could have won five minutes ago, but he kept baiting his opponent. Every time he was sent tumbling to the floor the crowd would laugh and Neptune indulged himself in their adulation.

This was not what the Vytal tournament was meant to be about. It wasn't meant to be a stage for an idiot to show off at the expense of his opponent. It was meant to showcase the noble nature of the huntsman and huntresses who competed.

When she’d known she was better than her opponent she had sought to end the match as quickly as possible, and both of them had left the arena with their dignity intact. Neptune was enjoying humiliating his opponent. The papers and news organisations would pick up on the one sided nature of this match, and most likely Neptune would get his wish of his face being plastered all over the city.

Eventually face red with embarrassment, body shaking with either fury or fatigue, Neptune's victim finally hit the ground one too many times, his Aura spent. Upon the claxon and announcement signalling Neptune's victory the crowd erupted and Neptune performed about two dozen bows and disappearing into the bowels of the stadium.

Under the cover of the applause Amber had crawled off Weiss' lap and was now leant up against her mother. She was close to tears that the duel hadn't lived up to what she had dreamt about. Weiss was finally able to ditch her smile. She was beyond annoyed at Neptune's conduct, but knew that he would be expecting her to find him.

"Amber, I have to go and see someone now. It was really nice meeting you and I hope you enjoy the rest of the day." Weiss spoke the truth, even in the short time they had known each other Weiss felt that she had managed to establish a connection with her.

"No. I want you to stay." Amber needed training from Ruby if she wanted to turn her puppy dog eyes into weapons of mass destruction, but even so Weiss would have caved right then if she hadn't been somewhat inoculated against them.

"I'm sorry, but I've really got to go."

Amber pouted. "Will I see you again?"

"I'd like to meet up again."

With the assurance of the very young, Amber leapt upon the statement. "Then we can eat dinner tonight. Mummy said we going to eat in a res… rest… umm." She looked to her mother who helped her complete the word.

Weiss was taken aback by the suggestion. Perhaps she'd made more of an impression than she'd thought. Though it sounded pleasant, she didn't want to intrude on their time as a family. She knew from her complete lack of it how important it was. Lyra gave her a helpless shrug with a smile that said it was completely up to her.

A glance at the brown irises made up her mind. "That would be very nice. Thank you for the invitation Amber. I need to go now, but I'll be back later."

Amber jumped at Weiss, doing her best impression of Ruby and her overly enthusiastic hugs. After a time was eventually able to extract herself and headed towards one of the preparation rooms.

Neptune was waiting inside, freshly showered thankfully, and she swallowed down what she wanted to say to him about his etiquette in the arena.

"That was very impressive Neptune."

"I know." Weiss concealed a grimace. As modest as always. "You looked really hot on the big screen."

"Thank you." Weiss was never sure how to proceed in these situations. Searches online hadn't revealed much about normal dating protocol. Most of the time the advice on one site was contradicted by another, and she hadn't been able to find any peer-reviewed research on the topic.

Neptune advanced on her with his trademark grin and she braced herself for the kiss she knew was coming. At first she had tried to find enjoyment in the magical action that woke princesses and broke spells but, as hard as she might will for it to appear, the magic never did. It wasn't that the feeling was particularly awful, unsanitary yes, but it was just it felt wrong to be doing it with Neptune.

Dutifully she put her arms on his shoulders as he stepped close and shut her eyes, tilting her head slightly. From what she read the touch of another's lips was meant to be electric, an all-consuming experience which redefined your entire existence into that singular point of contact. But she felt none of that as Neptune's tongue pressed against her lips requesting entry, she acquiesced and allowed him to run his tongue over her teeth.

The wall was cold through the thin dress covering her back and now pressed between it and his body, she felt the first fluttering of regret in her breast. Control was one of the things she craved. It was why she had fought so hard to attend a combat academy on another continent and why she had initially acted so poorly to Ruby's appointment as leader.

Unfortunately in this relationship Neptune was the one who decided almost everything. She was a passenger and, though willing to suffer through it to achieve her aims, it was beginning to drain her.

Her half-hearted attempts to battle the invader in her mouth must have encouraged Neptune. A warm hand caressed her thigh. They had never done anything like that before. She’d told him she wasn't ready and wanted to take it slow, but in reality it was simply further than she was prepared to go with him.

She didn't want to sully all her first memories by having him included in them. She had already sacrificed her first proper kiss for her cause but, if she was going to go further, she wanted to it to be with someone special. Someone who she actually cared about.

Without breaking the kiss she took her arm from his shoulder and pushed the errant hand away. The tongue in her mouth became more forceful as fingers grasped her behind, digging into the well-toned flesh. Weiss pulled away. "Neptune, stop."

To his credit he did, though his annoyance was palpable. "What's wrong?"

"Someone might come in." It was a feeble excuse.

"Weiss, no one is going to come in. I've got this room for another hour. Look, it's all sorted now." While speaking he’d walked to the door and locked it before advancing on her again.

Effectively trapped in here with him, her resolve to continue the charade sapped even further. "Sorry, I'm just not in the mood." She supposed she could have added more contrition to her voice.

"You're never in the mood! We've been going out for nearly a month and we've never done anything more than kiss. You're always the one who stops us. I've never dated anyone as frigid as you are."

The anger at the way he had treated his opponent and consequently upset Amber rose up.

"I'm not in the mood because of what you did in the arena." She drew herself up to her full height and even though he still towered over her ̶ ̶ as loathe as she was to admit it most people did ̶ ̶ his physical advantage didn't intimidate her.

"What? I won."

"You humiliated your opponent."

"So? I'm better than he was."

"So what if you are. He was trying his hardest and you should have finished it quickly. Instead you toyed with him. The Vytal tournament isn't meant to be a pedestal for your enormous ego."

"Funny, the crowd didn't seem to agree with your jumped up opinion. They were enjoying it." Both their voices were now echoing from the hard tiles around the room as they rose in volume.

"Yes they enjoyed it, but people also enjoy public executions, so I don't think the opinions of the idiots in the audience are particularly important. You may fit right in with their values, but I know of at least one other person who didn't enjoy what you did. You were a disgrace and you've brought shame to Haven Academy." She hadn't meant for this to get so out of hand but now the floodgates were open, every resentful thought she had held inside herself for the duration of their relationship came pouring out.

"Weiss, get this into your thick head, I won. Yes I could have beaten him quickly and then I would have been a footnote on the day's report. This way I get noticed and Haven get a champion. Brought shame to it? What on Remnant are you talking about? Do you honestly think people care about honour? No they only want entertainment."

"They many not care, but if you have a trace of decency in you, you should. You're meant to be a role model for everyone watching. What lesson do you think they learnt?"

"What the hell has gotten into you? I just won a duel and you're my girlfriend. You're meant to be supportive, but instead you've come down here and just started screeching at me. Sometimes I don't know why I put up with you."

Those words incensed Weiss more than any of the other stupid things he had said so far. "You put up with me? I'm the one who had to put up with everything you do. I'm the one who constantly has to drop what I was doing at short notice just so you could show me off. All because you're a selfish, self-obsessed _ass_."

Weiss was taken aback that she had lost control to the extent that she actually swore, but it felt good to get all this off her chest. In full flow she wasn't prepared to let him ignore the worst thing he had done to her. "And I'm the one who had to watch as you spent an entire evening flirting with my _sister_!"

It took a few moments for Neptune to gather his thoughts. When he did they were comically immature and ill-advised. "Well maybe I should be going out with Winter then. At least she appreciates me."

Weiss couldn't help but laugh. "Neptune, please tell me you aren't that stupid. Please tell me that you don't actually think she was interested in you. What on Remnant do you think you'd offer her in a relationship? I'll give you a hint, nothing. The only reason she so much as looked at you is because you were with me and she wanted to make me jealous. Has she so much as contacted you once since that evening? I think we both know the answer to that."

The damage to her meticulously developed plans had been done and what's more she no longer felt like continuing the charade even if she believed she could salvage it. That he would use Winter in an argument only reaffirmed what she had always believed about him. Now the only thing left to do was leave with her dignity intact. Her research hadn't included this part of a relationship, but she could manage.

"Neptune, we're through." His mouth fell open slightly so she thought she should make it clearer. "Were over. I'm leaving you. I'm breaking up with you. I'm dumping you. Do you understand the situation? Goodbye."

The confusion on his face gave way to hurt and all the confidence he normally extruded simply drained away. Standing there with his spine and shoulders slumped he was such a pitiful sight that, despite herself and everything he had put her through, she actually felt sorry for him. Had she gone too far? She hadn't meant to be as vicious as she had been, but it was too late to do anything about it now. A clean break would be better for him. She turned to the door.

"Weiss…" The mewling word and a hand on her arm caused her to turn back. He was a beaten puppy and she was the one who had kicked him while he was down.

Gently she pried his fingers from her forearm before looking into his damp eyes. "I'm sorry Neptune, we just weren't compatible." She turned her back on him again before stepping through the door.

Heels clicking off the hard floor, she moved confidently until she found an empty room she knew he wouldn't have access to. The lights all flickered on automatically in response to her presence, illuminating a private corporate hospitality suite and she sank gratefully into the plush cushions of one of the chairs.

The breath she’d unconsciously been holding exited her lungs in a long, slow exhale. Releasing all her pent up feelings had left her drained, but most of all for the first time in weeks she was content. The thought of Neptune had been a constant dark cloud just waiting to blot out the sun.

Until it was over she hadn't realised just how hard feigning a relationship been on her. Her assumption when she’d concocted her plan to show she was normal was that it would be easy. That it would be no more challenging than writing an assignment on a subject she wasn't familiar with. Just do some research, and then just get on with it.

In reality it was one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do. Right up there with confronting her father with her desire to attend Beacon. At least that was a heated flashpoint that was settled within a few days. This had dragged on and on. If not for meeting Amber, Weiss wasn't sure how long it would have continued for.

The original timetable had been for her to be able to present him to father. After he saw that she was dating like a normal person, he would instantly come to despise Neptune. His low born status and abrasive personality would have ensured that. Her father would have forbid her from seeing him. She would have cried, told him it wasn't fair. Eventually she would have had to acquiesce to his demands, with him totally unaware that he’d danced perfectly Weiss a massive favour. It was the perfect excuse to end the relationship.

The cushions on the deep, luxurious chair tried to suck her back into their depths as she rose. The promise to Amber foremost on her mind, she wondered whether she should invite the rest of her team as well. Ruby and Amber would certainly get along, they were both lovable, wide eyed children at heart, but Weiss decided against it. It would have been a complete breach of social etiquette to extend her invitation to other people. Using her scroll, Weiss sent her team a message that she was having dinner in Val, before leaving the room and going to find her seat in the stands.

* * *

 

Well, Ruby and Blake were right, Penny was absolutely terrifying. Yang was staring at the orange haired huntress as she ate ̶ ̶ _wait can she eat?_ ̶ ̶ and tried desperately to equate the quirky girl Weiss had knocked to the ground with the veritable source of destruction she had witnessed earlier in the arena. They just couldn't be the same person.

The atmosphere in the stadium had been even more intense than usual, everyone had known that there was going to be a big announcement. Penny had told them she wanted her friends there, though not the reason. Instead of the usual introduction of her name and place of origin, the stadium lights had dimmed, and a swanky commercial with the subject being their _friend_ played _._

Dead, stunned silence had been the most common reaction as a disembodied voice explained the miracle they had accomplished. Yang still couldn’t get her head around that. She had, everyone had, always been taught that Auras were a manifestation of their souls and yet here was one, that wasn't. Or was it? She’d talked to Penny, she seemed human. Did Yang really think she didn't have a soul? That she was just a machine? Could a machine exhibit the all the feelings Penny did? Yang didn't think so. And yet, that led to an even more troubling thought.

If Penny's Aura was generated by a soul, it meant whoever had built her had actually created one. A soul. The thing that separated them from the animals, from the Grimm, and yet some people in white coats and glasses had played god and made one.

If a soul wasn't special. Wasn't created by some mystical force at the inception of someone's life. If it could be made synthetically. What good was it? At that moment was she a soul sitting caged in a body, or was she a collection of meat and bones, her existence defined by electrons travelling down the neurons in her brain. When the neurons stopped firing, the chemical processes coming to an end, what would happen?

She’d always believed that her mum was somewhere, in nice place, a happy place, smiling down at them. It was one of the few things that her dad had said to them when he wasn't pissed out of his mind. That Summer was proud of them and would always be watching over them and yet, was she? Did her soul really pass on, or was it just something that had decayed into nothingness with the rest of her body?

The reveal of Penny's true nature had made her question every belief that had once been set in the hardest stone. It had caused her to have this existential crisis. Judging by the furious conversation that had filled the yawning silence after the video, it was the same for a lot of other people. Penny's existence had the potential to shatter the world as she knew it.

The fight itself after that monumental announcement could have been anticlimactic. It wasn't. The duel had been comically one sided. The claxon had been the signal for the beginning and also heralded the end two seconds later.

Penny's blades had shot forwards and though her opponent managed to dodge one and catch another on her weapon, eight had still slammed into her body. The coup de grâce had been the two blades which had initially missed their target reversing their course and striking the girl on the floor, triggering her Aura alarm.

It had been quick, it had been violent and it had been brutal. But the most disturbing thing was that Penny hadn't shown any facial reaction during the fight. As soon as the fight had ended she’d smiled and celebrated, but during the few heartbeats of the fight her face had been blank. Seemingly utterly and singularly focused on winning, an inhuman intensity to her features.

Yang didn't know who could stop her. The girl Penny had fought was a fourth year, and yet Penny had crushed her like a bug underfoot. Judging by Pyrrha who hadn't touched her food, the champion of so many tournaments wasn't confident about beating Penny either.

The arrival of Neptune into Beacon's cafeteria shepherded Yang from her thoughts and she automatically looked behind him for Weiss, but she wasn't in sight.

"Do you mind if I borrow this." Without waiting for an answer Neptune had scooped Blake's scroll of the table. "Oh come on. I don't even get an article. What the fuck!"

The clatter of metal on wood rang out as he dropped the offending computer onto the table. It showed the tournament’s main website and rather than the usual summary of the day's events, every article was about Penny and her nature. The enormous implications seemed to be lost on Neptune as he sank on to the bench next to her, sulking about his lack of fame.

From her seat of honour next to Penny, Ruby spoke. "Neptune, where's Weiss?"

His answer was curt. "I don't know. Why should I care?"

Yang bit down on her anger. "Maybe because she's your girlfriend and she's meant to be having dinner with you."

"Not anymore. I dumped her. She's far too much trouble for me to bother dealing with."

At his words Ruby had risen, worry etched on her face. "Where is she? What happened?"

"I told you I don't know where she is. The last I saw she was hugging my leg, begging me to take her back. That was in Vale. She's probably still there crying over me."

Yang had to concentrate very hard not to deck Neptune. Even if they’d broken up he still should have cared at least a little bit. This was what she had been worried about when they had started dating. He would be able to brush this off, but it could very ruin whatever progress Weiss had made.

"She's coming into Beacon now,” Ruby said, her scroll at her ear. “I'll go and meet her. It'll probably be best if it's just me at the moment." She left a trail of petals behind her.

Neptune slid closer to Yang, his thigh pressing against hers. He turned to face her wearing his toothy grin. "So Yang, wanna go for a drink?"

Her fist had already swung an inch towards his stupid mouth before she managed to stop it. The heat rolling off her was enough to warn him he had made a mistake, even if it wasn't for the red irises. There was absolutely no way anyone thought it ok to hit on her at a time like this, and yet he did.

A few weeks ago she would have floored him. She’d even been looking for the opportunity. It was always her go to response whenever she wanted to protect someone. And she so wanted so much to protect Weiss. But fresh in her mind was the lesson she’d learnt with such a heavy price.

Anger couldn't control her anymore. Despite how much she desired to hit him. How every single sinew in her entire body was calling out to wipe the smile off his face. How her veins were filled with turbulent flames. Slowly she forced her hand out of its closed fist.

Breathing very deeply she replied, her voice quiet and controlled. "No. I do not wish to have a drink with you. And, a bit of advice, don't hit on someone when you've just dumped their friend."

Yang began walking away and Blake quickly reached her side. Over the pounding of the blood rushing through her ears she barely heard her friend speak, but hear her she did, and it made her insides squirm with pleasure. In a delicate tone Blake had leant into her and said with utmost feeling.

"I'm proud of you."

* * *

 

Ruby ran. She could only think about getting to Weiss as quickly as possible and just trying to ease some of her pain. Weiss had said she was just approaching the south entrance. Though it was one not used all that often it was for the best. Weiss probably didn't want everyone to see her crying. Ruby tried to think about how to smuggle her to their dorm before she caught sight of the distinctive alabaster locks. Without deactivating her Semblance she zipped up to Weiss and gathered her up in her arms.

"Weiss, I'm so glad I found you. Look I know what happened, he's a big meanie but everything is going to be ok. I'm here for you now." Hopefully she would have the faculties to help Weiss, even if this particular scenario was so far out of her realm of experience.

Weiss laughed. Ruby kept rubbing her back for a second before freezing. _Wait what?_ It was a good sound. One that she had only heard from her partner a few times before when she had genuinely made her laugh, instead of her usual polite chuckle. A terrible though crept into her mind. _Oh no._ _Weiss was insane._ Her partner must have completely lost her mind when Neptune dumped her. How was she meant to deal with this? She wasn't a doctor… no wait a psychiatrist. That's what she needed. Blake might be good at this, she was book smart, she'd know what to do.

"Ruby, what on Remnant are you talking about?" Weiss' voice could barely contain her mirth and renewed laughter threatened to escape at every word.

 _God it's worse than I thought._ Weiss hadn't even scolded her for crashing into her when she used her Semblance to embrace her and wait, they were still hugging in public. Where everyone could see them.

Slow enough not to startle a King Taijitu Ruby pulled her head back from over Weiss' shoulder, so she could actually see the extent on her madness on her face. She braced herself for a rabid gaze and foaming lips, but instead saw a wide smile and a twinkle as Weiss' eyes met hers.

"Ruby, what has gotten into you?" Once again Weiss' voice was just a subtle prelude to giggling.

Now she really didn't know what to do. Weiss didn't look mad. _Actually, can people look insane? No that's insane people don't know they're insane. Other people could tell._ But she couldn't. Weiss appeared fine. She looked, for lack of a better word, exultant.

It shouldn't have been the case after what had happened. Weiss was even waiting patiently for her to speak, still holding her. That never happened Weiss would always try and drag an answer out. Still not entirely ruling out insanity, Ruby tried to explain.

"Neptune came back and said he dumped you at your dinner and you weren't with him, so we were worried and so I called you and you said you were here, so I had to find you."

Weiss laughed again. _Yep, definitely insane._ "Really did he tell you that? Wow. I didn't think that actually happened, but the more you know I suppose." She cast her gaze around before settling on a destination and she finally broke their embrace. "Ruby, do you fancy a walk through the gardens?"

 _What?_ The sudden change of topic through her off balance again. Not to mention that the afternoon air was assaulting the part of her body that had been pressed against Weiss. Though Weiss' normal temperature did seem lower than most, her presence was still an indescribably awesome feeling and its absence horrific. "Umm… sure."

Ruby felt cool fingers wrap around hers as Weiss dragged her off onto the grass. _What? She had to stop saying that._ But the whole situation was just too surreal. Weiss never held her hand of her own volition before, surreptitiously Ruby pinched herself with her free hand. Alas, no joy. It wasn't a dream.

"You know I love the gardens here. They're such a nice place to be, to study. I think its tuition money well spent, even if it doesn't have a purely practical use."

Weiss led her over the immaculate lawns to the gardens proper. Stepping through an arch made of two flowering bushes that had been grown together other the path, Ruby was assaulted by smells. Sharp scents, subtle scents, strong heady scents. All merging together and overloading her nose. With Weiss there, it was… nice.

She didn't know if the groundskeepers used some form of special fertiliser but everywhere she looked was a riot of colour. Well actually riot wasn't correct, though intense, there had obviously been great deliberation in the placement of the flowers and all the rainbow of hues blended smoothly together. Weiss spoke softly in the shrouded silence.

"You know, the only places I miss about the estate where I grew up are the gardens. It's incredibly vain I admit to have acres of flowerbeds only a few will ever see, but I liked it. When it got too much. When I was hurting too much. I would take a book and lose myself in them and it would take hours for someone to find me. Some of my happiest memories are of summer afternoons spent lounging on the grass.

“There was one place in particular. It was quite far from the house so no one but the staff ever went there. There was a small lawn surrounded by flowering bushes and beds. The smells when they were in bloom were incredible and in the middle of the clearing was a small fish pond with a waterfall. I would lie down and kick my shoes off. Just relax with a textbook, listen to the trickling water, and bask in the sunshine. It was my special place. No one could take that away from me." While Weiss was reminiscing a dreamy look had come to her eyes.

Ruby still wasn't sure about Weiss' mental state. She never talked about her life unless she was under extreme duress. "Umm… Weiss are you ok?"

"Why wouldn't I be? I've had a great day. Oh… you're probably referring to Neptune. Let's just say he didn't exactly give you the truth."

"He didn't?"

"No. I was the one who ended the relationship, not him."

"Oh… so you're not insane?"

"What?"

Ruby blushed. "It's just I thought you'd be upset, then you were happy and it was weird and I thought… you might have gone crazy." She looked down avoiding Weiss' gaze.

"Ruby you dolt." The way she said it, it was a happy, almost comforting, pet name, rather than with her usual annoyance. "I can assure you that all my mental faculties are intact. But thank you for worrying about me." Weiss squeezed her hand.

They walked hand in hand through the gardens for the time, revelling in the warm sunlight before Ruby spoke again. "So you dumped him at dinner?"

"No long before that."

That didn't make much sense. Who would she have been eating with if not him? She was certain Weiss wouldn't be in this strange mood if she had to have another meal with her sister. Perhaps she had treated herself to a solitary meal. "So you ate alone?"

It was Weiss' turn to blush. "I wasn't alone. I… I think I actually managed to make a friend. Well two friends actually. All by myself."

Ruby couldn't help but smile at Weiss’ pride. It was a great testament to how much she had come out of her shell at Beacon. Weiss struggled to cope with normal social interactions, often took on a distant, haughty persona. It normally drove people away before they got to really know how nice she was on the inside.

Ruby used their still grasped hands to pull Weiss into a hug. "That's brilliant Weiss."

"I know. I still can't really believe it. I missed out on so much growing up. I never went to school. The only person my age I socialised with was my sister, and you know how that was. I never learnt how to just have normal conversations or make friends. All my interactions were for professional not personal benefit. I never even had a single friend before you and now I've actually got quite a few. It's strange really. Who would want to be friends with me?"

"Well I know I do, and the rest of us here. You're an incredible person Weiss. Who are your new friends anyway?" They continued to walk down the long winding paths bordered by flowers, still holding hands.

"One of them is called Amber, she's six and three quarters—she was quite insistent about that distinction—and the other is her mother, Lyra."

That wasn't quite the answer Ruby had been expecting. She’d always assumed Weiss would hate children. It was almost impossible for her to picture Weiss putting up with their behaviour for more than a few moments. "I didn't know you liked kids."

"I do. Children are easy to get along with. It was actually Amber who approached me in the first place which I'm so grateful for. Otherwise I never would have got to know them. Lyra was a bit hesitant, she was intimidated by my name as most people are, but I think I won her round by the end.

"She actually had Amber when she was around my age and it just made me think how small most of my problems seem in comparison to that. When Amber was born, Lyra had no one to call upon, no one to help her. She didn't have much money and had to rely on charity and benefits. She had to forego food some days just to make ends meet. I mean, what are my problems compared to that?"

"That's awful." There was a tightness in Ruby’s throat.

"Yes, it was. But luckily there doing much better now. They apparently have a nice cosy apartment near the sea, and Amber is in school while Lyra has a steady job. That was probably another reason she was worried. She actually works for me." Weiss shook her head. "Well, technically she works as a receptionist for a subsidiary of an umbrella corporation majority owned by the SDC. But I should still have enough clout to get her promoted to a better paying position. And at night she's studying veterinary science online. It turns out we have a lot in common. If not out backgrounds. I like both of them."

"They sound nice."

"They are and I know that you'd like them. Amber especially. I mean, you're both wide eyed idiots who tried to be friends with an aloof and socially inept girl."

Ruby giggled and Weiss couldn't help but join in. This was one of the things she had been missing in her friendship with Weiss. Too often it seemed they were too busy with school, or running between fires dowsing them out, to enjoy simple moments like this. Where they could laugh and just be themselves. It was a side of Weiss that she kept carefully hidden and most never got to see. Ruby felt incredibly privileged that Weiss felt comfortable enough around her to drop her walls.

Weiss dragged Ruby off the path and into a grassy clearing sheltered on all sides by high bushes. It was completely secluded and, with the scents of dozens of types of flowers floating through the air, it seemed to have been ripped straight out of one of Blake's books. The perfect place for a forbidden tryst.

Gracefully dropping to the warm grass, Weiss unzipped her boots and Ruby settled down next to her. They leant into each other as Weiss squeezed the earth with her toes, a blissful expression on her face.

Ruby sent a quick message to Yang and Blake telling them everything was ok, before she went back to studying her partner. Weiss was still acting very weird, but Ruby no longer thought she was insane. It seemed as though she was just genuinely happy and, for the moment at least, had let most of her inhibitions go.

"So you're not unhappy with how it went with Neptune?" For a moment Weiss froze and Ruby thought she'd ruined whatever it was they had been sharing, but then Weiss went back to playing with the ground.

"No, I'm happier than I've been in a long time. It was actually Amber who made me realise what I've been doing to myself. If not for her I'd still be with him. Children have it so easy. They don't have all the worries we have. All they want is to be happy and it's a desire that we so often abandon in pursuit of all the other things we think we need. That's what I was doing with Neptune."

Weiss paused before going on. "I never actually like him you know. He was just a means to an end. I just needed someone to present to father and when he came back to me at the dance. He fit the bill. I've met plenty of boys like him before. They don't actually like me, care about me. All they want is my name. To be able to say they’re going out with a Schnee. So I picked him and led him along."

The revelation that Weiss had never had any feelings for Neptune shocked Ruby. She’d spent so long worrying about her friend and apparently it had all been part of a plan. Before she could stop herself, she voiced her thoughts. "That's… that's cold Weiss."

Weiss pulled away from her. "I know, but what would you expect from the Ice Queen. It's just a stupid nickname, but it's true. Schnees don't have hearts. We just have lumps of ice. That's what my father wanted. Emotions just get in the way. Yes, it was cold but it was necessary."

"That's not true Weiss. I know how warm you are on the inside." She fished Weiss' hand from her lap and held onto it tightly. "Help me understand why you did that. Why was it necessary?"

Weiss shuddered despite the warm afternoon air. She closed her eyes and didn't move for about a minute. Ruby was considering saying something when Weiss spoke. "Ruby I trust you. You're my best friend in the entire world. You were my first friend, and because of you, I have others. I will forever be grateful, but I understand if you don't want to be friends after this."

Ruby couldn't imagine a scenario where she wouldn't want to be friends with Weiss. "Ok, but that's not going to happen."

Weiss seemed to be building herself up to something. "The reason is… why I did it is…" Weiss trailed off.

"Whatever it is you can tel ̶ ̶ "

"I'm gay," Weiss blurted out.

 _What?_ Perhaps the most justified use of the word today. She’d never in a million years thought that her partner was a lesbian. She’d never shown the slightest hint of interest in other girls, beyond usual friendship.

Indeed whenever there was a rumour floating around about her it was always with a guy. Although, now Ruby thought about it, every time a boy had asked her out before Neptune she’d always turned them down. She’d used the usual excuse that they only wanted her name, but perhaps it had been more than that.

While Ruby was internally going through yards and yards of rationalisation, she missed Weiss staring at her with a hopeful look on her face. When Ruby still hadn't spoken for half a minute Weiss' features fell, grief filling every line of her body. She stood, not even bothering to pick up her boots. "I understand Ruby. It's ok. I know I'm a freak." Weiss began walking away.

The words jolted Ruby from inside herself, and the realisation of what she had just done hit her like a truck. The sight of Weiss' slumped shoulders forced her to think quickly. Unfortunately for Weiss, the ability to think quickly whilst panicking wasn't one of Ruby’s strongest aspects.

Weiss' lungs expelled all the air within them in a rush as her diaphragm slammed into the not so soft ground. Ruby hung onto her legs. She’d desperately tackled her partner to stop her leaving. Ruby clambered up over Weiss' prone form.

"Weiss, you're not a freak. You're my friend and this doesn't change anything."

Still trying to draw a breath, Weiss panted. "You're ok… with me being gay."

"Yes Weiss. It's great you're gay, fantastic, brilliant, incredible, awesome, uhh…" at this point she was beginning to run out of adjectives.

"It's great I'm gay?" Weiss raised a quizzical eyebrow, ruined slightly by how intimately they were still entwined after Ruby's fabulously well thought out plan.

"Well no. I mean yes. I mean… it's great you feel comfortable enough to admit it. Oh god I'm not very good at this. What I mean is that there's nothing wrong with you being gay and it won't change anything between us."

"Really?"

"Yes Weiss really. We're still best friends aren't we?"

Weiss was clearly shocked at Ruby's reaction to her confession before giving a broad smile. "Yes, we're best friends." She paused for a moment before continuing. "Umm… Do you think you could get off? I sort of can't feel my legs."

"Ahh." Ruby reversed course, clambering off Weiss. She let out a yelp as she realised her actions had inadvertently caused Weiss' dress to ride up over hips and that she suddenly had a very intimate view of Weiss' snow white underwear. She leapt up and wheeled away. Trying and failing to think of anything else other than her partner's undergarments. _Who wears lacy underwear every day?_ Blood raced to her cheeks at the image she was unable to force her mind to delete.

"Ruby, what's the matter?"

"Uhh… nothing." She cast around for an excuse to explain her behaviour. "I just saw this really pretty flower." Ruby plucked it from the grass. "See." Luckily Weiss had fixed her wardrobe malfunction and was sitting on the ground again massaging a red spot on her usual pale thigh.

"Ruby, that's a daffodil. It's a weed." Weiss gave her partner the lesson in her usual deadpan voice.

"Oh." Ruby now had a more reasonable excuse for her blush. "It's still really pretty." Before she could think about what she was doing she placed it in Weiss' hair, eliciting a small gasp from the heiress at the contact. She sat back down next to her friend.

"Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me Weiss. I know it can't have been easy for you."

"No it wasn't. It was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done. But you've no idea how good it feels to not be rejected for who I am. So thank you."

Ruby could guess what she meant and, though she didn't want to spoil the moment, Weiss might want to talk about it now she was finally able to. "Did your father do that?"

Weiss looked off into the distance and spoke in a small voice. "Yes, when he found out about my preferences he called me a freak. I was young and he was discussing arranged marriages. That's all he had decided I was fit for. To be someone's breeding cow. I was naïve and stupid enough to tell him direct to his face that I didn't want to marry a boy. I wanted to marry a girl. I'd never seen him as angry as he was when I said that. Even White Fang attacks didn't make him react like he did then. He called me as many names as he could think off, screaming at me all the while. And then…" her voice caught in her throat. "He tried to correct me."

"Weiss, it’s ok. You don't have to go into this." Ruby had a feeling of dread as to where the sorry story was heading.

"No I want you to hear. It was the only time he physically punished me. Mental torture, or sending me to my room without food, or making me run until I threw up they were all ok, but until that day he’d never laid an aggressive hand on me." She paused again, drawing in a deep breath. "But that day after shouting at me for what felt like an hour, he grabbed me by my hair and dragged me to my room. I was too scared to fight. He tied my wrists to the corner of my bed." Ruby winced in anticipation of what she knew was coming.

"And then… he began beating me with his belt. And after every lash he would make me say ‘ _I'm not gay’._ It was by far the most painful thing I'd ever experienced. Before long I had screamed myself hoarse, but he still made me say it. I lost track of how many times he hit me. All I can remember is that when it had finished and I was repeating it over and over again under my breath while my back was on fire. My father untied my hands and let me collapse to the floor. My father spoke to me in a way where there could be no doubt. ‘ _Weiss,’_ he said, ‘ _you are not gay’_. And then her left me in my misery. The pain was bad, but what was infinitely worse was that it was my father that caused it. That he was so disgusted by me he felt it necessary. And for a very long time after that, I believed it. I still didn't like boys, but I could no longer find any attractions in girls. It was too painful."

Ruby wrapped her arms around Weiss with wet streaks on her cheeks. "Didn't anyone stop him?"

"No, I've said before the servants were all terrified of him."

"What about Erashan you told me he stood up for you before?"

"Erashan, hadn't yet been assigned to household security. He was still working in the field. It was just as well. If Erashan had been in the house that day, he would have killed my father. Then he would have been hunted for murder and I would have lost my father who despite everything, I still love. How messed up is that? No, the only person who helped me that day was Winter." She noticed Ruby's shock. "Yes, as surprising as it was, she snuck into my room when father would have been furious with her if he found out and dressed my wounds. It's thanks to her that I don't have scars and she held me all night as I cried. That's the only positive I can take from what happened. That it was nice having a sister that cared about me. Even if it was only for a day."

"Why did you tell me this Weiss?"

"So you know how incredible it feels to be able to admit who I am and have someone react like you have. I told my own family, and that's how they treated me. And yet you didn't. You're the best person I've ever known. I've told you that before and I'll tell you that again. My life would be immeasurably worse without you in it, and that you don't want me out of yours because I'm gay is just a feeling that I can't put into words."

"Weiss most people would be absolutely fine with it. It's not a big thing anymore. So you like girls? It’s no different to how I like strawberries. It's just a taste. It's not wrong." It felt good to make Weiss giggle. "And I know Yang and Blake would be fine with it too."

"No… I mean I know they probably would, but I'm not sure I'm ready to tell them yet."

"That's fine Weiss. You can do it in your own time, but they would accept you too."

"It's not just that. The more people who know the more likely father is to find out again. That's why I did what I was doing with Neptune. So I could show him that I'm straight. It might even have increased my chances of staying here. That's why I put myself through everything I did with him. I didn't want to lose this place… or you."

"Weiss, you'll never lose me. I'm like Zwei when he doesn't want to let go of his ball. I'll just keep hanging on." Weiss smiled at that notion.

"That would be nice." She settled down on the grass letting her head rest on the earth, running her hands through the thick blades.

Ruby joined her on her back, staring up at the occasional cloud drifting lazily across the blue sky, Weiss' soft hair tickling her neck in the breeze. The afternoon sun bearing down on her bare skin, it was nice. When she reached out with her hand and began tracing the knuckles of Weiss' with the pad of her thumb, it was even better.

In the secluded clearing. In the middle of the flowery maze. In the grounds of a school that taught its students to fight the monsters in the harsh world surrounding them. Two friends sunbathed on the grass and together they were content.

One had reached out with trepidation harbouring a dark secret that could have torn their world apart and yet, it changed nothing. And she had perhaps come to a realisation that it wasn't such a terrible part of herself that should be pushed into a darkened recess inside of her, but just another part. Not good or bad. Just one of the many building blocks that made her whole. It didn't matter which bricks defined her taste, only that she use whichever parts she was made of to go out into the world and leave it better than she had found it. And anyone who didn't like that particular part of her, well their opinion wasn't worth a damn.

**A/N: I had far too much fun writing this chapter which is why it is so long, my apologies for that. Anyway I hope you enjoyed and please review.**

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

There Winter was, sitting there on her throne, and looking every bit as regal as she would have you believe her bloodline makes her. How Blake hated her and everything she stood for. Perched on her chair ̶ ̶ not a common seat for the likes of her ̶ ̶ back straight, head up, looking down her nose at the peasants around her.

When others looked at her they would see a princess. Someone from a fairy tale. Someone who couldn't possibly be real. But she was and she was smiling at them, joy in their eyes as though she was one of them. As though they weren't separated by a wall of security.. They couldn't see past her mask, but Blake could.

Of course, it helped if you were as staggeringly beautiful as Winter was. It was unfair that someone as morally corrupt as she was, should have been born in a body that looked like that. But rich and powerful, were also the rich and beautiful. Whether through selective breeding or the use of expensive cosmetics and surgeries, Blake wasn't sure, but if someone was stunningly attractive, there was a good chance they had a few dozen servants on call.

Winter was no exception. She looked like a goddess who had deemed to grace her worshippers with her presence and worshipped, she was. It had always annoyed Blake that the SDC was so loved by the majority of people despite what they did to the Faunus. The SDC were the ones who provided everyone with Dust, the lifeblood of almost everything on Remnant, the shield that kept them from destruction at the hands of the Grimm.

A few had seen through the public relations smokescreen. They were the ones who viewed the Schnees not with adulation, but with terror. They knew the sordid secrets that the SDC did so much to hide and at least they tried to make a stand. Not that it made much difference. It was very difficult to boycott a company that had a virtual monopoly on the world's most valuable resource.

Winter showed nothing of that in her body language. She looked relaxed like she always did. Even when she had been simultaneously playing all four of RWBY in their dormitory, she'd never lost her poise. Blake had managed to keep her cool that day, but she had an advantage the two sisters didn't. It wasn't the first time she had seen Winter in the flesh.

The first time was when she’d been on an operation for the White Fang. They had been hunting new, easier targets after the SDC had beefed up her security. She’d been sent to freeze her ass off in a hole carved into the cold earth, covered in foliage, overlooking one of the hundreds of mines scattering the land outside the cities of Remnant.

Despite her discomfort, it seemed as though Adam had chosen well and it would be a good target for a raid. The security was light, a simple chain linked fence, a single watchtower with the standard radar and AA defences, a dozen stationary automatic turrets for driving away any wandering Grimm and only ten guards with two score robots. It might sound like a lot, but all it would take would be one shadowy figure slipping inside and shutting down the generators and then the rest would be easy.

As much as Blake might have wished otherwise, the guards at an outpost like this weren't soulless battle hardened mercenaries. They were people just trying to make a living. Trying to support their families. With the defences down they wouldn't be a massacred by the White Fang elite.

Of course all those defences were to guard something, that something being a newly built mining facility. And present like at all SDC mining facilities were the labourers ̶ ̶ the for essential purposes slaves ̶ ̶ the Faunus. There were a hundred and six of them if she'd counted correctly, which she had. Bad intel cost lives. Lives that were depending on her. A hundred and six squeezed into a building which slept fifty, sharing beds so the operation could continue throughout the night. Being a new facility they didn't yet look like the Faunus she knew they would become. Their spirits broken, wills sapped, bodies emancipated, and flinching at every sound.

Instead they looked content. It amazed Blake that despite everything the White Fang did to try and warn the Faunus what they were getting in for, too many still only saw the large signing on bonus and wages much higher than average. Wages they would never receive in full after the _costs_ of their employment had been subtracted. Charges only written in the smallest of print on their contract. Of course when they found out they would complain and so the SDC had staff on standby by for that.

The guards may not be soulless but the _Operational Efficiency Supervisors_ were, they were the ones who jobs it was to halt any dissent before it started and then ensure it never happened again. The OESs deserved everything that came their way and even with the fifteen of them, the defences still fell under the light category.

Which was odd considering what it was protecting, not only a new facility, but according to their stolen intelligence, a stockpile of extremely pure Dust. Being so remote, there was no economic viability in connecting it to the industrial train network. Instead all the output was transferred to a processing facility by one of the SDC's huge air freighters.

The size of the aircraft was why this particular target had been selected. The production volumes here were low. The mine had already been operating for a month and a freighter wasn't due for another two—the point where the amount of Dust became financially viable for transport.

There was a significant stockpile sitting in the warehouse. A stockpile the White Fang could make much better use of. They could extract some of it on their own commandeered Bullheads and destroy the rest.

So here she was observing. Observing the defences, the people, the schedules, planning the most effective course of attack. The one she'd settled on over the course of the two days was good. It should have minimal friendly casualties. The problem was it was too good. This whole thing was too good. It was far too easy. The defences too light for what they were supposedly guarding. Which was the reason why she was still here, watching, trying to find the slightest bit of evidence that her gut was right and it was a trap.

A Bullhead flew directly overhead, skimming the tops of the trees. The particular aircraft was recognisable to any member of the White Fang, pristine white and emblazoned with the Schnee crest.

Landing on the giant air pad the Bullhead was comically small in comparison, and Blake zeroed her monocular range finder on the opening door. As a figure appeared, she momentarily forgot how to breathe.

All the members of the White Fang had seen pictures of all the Schnee family, but pictures were one thing. Seeing Winter Schnee in the flesh was something entirely different. Winter was, for lack of a better phrase, absolutely stunning.

Blake was actually older than her by a few months, but where she was still a scrawny fifteen year old, Winter had a matured, adult figure. Her outline was made of smooth curves, perfectly filling her tailored suit. For a moment Blake lost track of where she was and just basked in the appearance of the apparition.

Then she remembered who she was looking at. A Schnee. One of those who had enslaved her entire race. Fury and hate quickly followed and consumed the awe. If she wasn't sure it was a trap before, she was now. There was no reasonable explanation as to why a member of the Schnee household would have come out here to personally oversee the operations of a seemingly unimportant facility, if not to present a juicy target for anyone watching.

Blake wished she had her rifle. Even though she was sure it was a trap. It would have been worth the risk to deal the potential blow to the SDC. She dismissed that mad option. She wasn't prepared to be a martyr. Not yet at least. After several cold and boring hours the Bullhead had departed and Blake had decided to get some sleep before leaving the next day.

Blake still didn't know whether it had been a trap or not. Upon return to their base Adam had heeded her warning. Would the girl sitting on the throne willingly have put herself in that much danger to kill a few members of the White Fang, Blake didn't know? But Blake knew if she had been better equipped that day, she certainly would have tried to kill Winter, and she may very have well succeeded.

Would have succeeded in killing Winter. Who Blake could see that, despite everything, Weiss still loved. It would have caused her friend almost immeasurable pain and the response of the SDC would have been withering to behold. Blake shut down the thoughts about what she would have done if a different Schnee had stepped out of the Bullhead that day. She was a different person now. That _her_ was in the past.

Because she had seen Winter before, in their dormitory she had been inoculated against her appearance, but she dreaded to think what would have happened if that hadn't been the case. Probably the same thing that had happened when she had seen another one of her old enemies.

The thought of what she had done when she had first encountered Weiss still brought a distinct feeling of shame to her. At the time she’d been justified, Weiss was not only a Schnee but being a complete stuck up bitch to a young girl on the floor.

At the time she didn't know Weiss. Didn't know she wasn't what she had been told to expect from a Schnee, but someone with a good heart. Aomeone who struggled in social situations and was trying to cope the best she could using the lessons she had been taught throughout her troubled childhood.

It struck Blake suddenly that she didn't know Winter either. Not properly. Though judging by the superior smirk on her face, Blake couldn't help but hope for the day it was wiped off her lips.

Ruby plopped into the seat on the other side of Yang. "How's she doing Rubes?" Yang spoke to her sister.

"She's a little nervous, but I think she was on top of it."

That was of course the reason why they were here, and why Winter had deemed fit to grace them all with her presence. Weiss was due to begin her second round fight any moment and the crowd quieted as the familiar pre-match proceedings started.

Blake had already won her second round match. It hadn't really thrown her off her stride, but she had been lucky. After the first round of bouts all the restrictions that ensure they would only fight take place between people in the same year were lifted, meaning a first year with only a few months training at their academy could be drawn against a fourth year just about to graduate. Of course those matches tended to be horrendously one sided, but it was necessary if combatants from the same academies were going to be kept apart until the later rounds.

Blake had been drawn against another first year, who as was usually the case couldn't match up with the skills of her friends, her fight had been easy. Weiss' wouldn't be.

In this match she was the underdog, drawn against a third year. It would be difficult, although Blake believed her friend had the strength of will to win. No matter who she was up against.

Right on cue Weiss' opponent entered the arena. "From Mistral, Matt Wald."

To most in the audience he didn't look that much. Not all that physically imposing—though still much taller than Weiss was and Blake suppressed a smile at the expense of her very short friend. He wasn't particularly muscular or well honed. Looks however, can be deceiving. He was good, very good. The lack of over developed muscles and his heritage gave him incredibly quick reflexes.

The only thing that made him stand out was the pair of mouse ears protruding from underneath his straw coloured hair. It was this trait which drew most of his support from the few Faunus around the arena who had been able to save up enough to attend.

The biggest give away to his skill should have been his weapons, a pair of _Yuānyāngyuè_ also known as crescent moon knives in the common vernacular. Blake had sparred against someone wielding them in the past and she knew how difficult it was to face them while using a sword. Every parried strike was drawn into one of the crevices.

"From our very own Beacon Academy, Miss Weiss Schnee."

Weiss strode out from her door, false or real confidence in every stride as the stadium erupted around her. Yang and Ruby adding their enthusiastic voices to the mix. Blake joined in half-heartedly after a nudge. It wasn't that she didn't support Weiss. It was more after a lifetime spent sneaking through the shadows, anything that drew attention to her just felt wrong.

Weiss’ entrance was by far the loudest entrance Blake had heard. As a member of Beacon Weiss would have had the majority of support from the crowd anyway and coming from Atlas would have been another portion of the attendees. But there was more, she was a Schnee. An almost mythical figure to most people. She was beautiful. And she was graceful.

That would have been enough to ensure she was one of the most popular fighters in the tournament, but Weiss had done even more. After her first fight she’d spent hours meeting and talking to the fans who had gathered around the stadium. She’d given numerous interviews to reporters and pictures of her playing with children had made the front page of the newspapers. Weiss was building a deep well of support and good favour towards the Schnee name.

The two fighters proceeded towards the middle, Matt didn't appear at all intimidated by the differences in the levels of the reception. In fact to Blake's eyes he was focussed solely on Weiss with a look of undisguised hatred on his face. That look was well past any emotion that might have risen due to the tournament. That was something that extended far beyond the walls of the stadium and with Weiss being a Schnee, Blake had a good idea as to the source of the Faunus' malice.

Weiss herself had become aware of her opponent's expression, and almost imperceptible hesitation creep into her step. Nevertheless, upon reaching the designated point she performed an immaculate curtsey. Gasps of shock sounded throughout the crowd as a ball of spit moistened the sand by her feet.

"What the fuck?" Yang sounded outraged.

Blake reciprocated the feeling. He had given Weiss one of the basest and most disgusting insults imaginable. Weiss had been rocked back a step by his action. A look of hurt on her face. Once again she was lumped back in with her family's actions. No matter how hard Blake knew she tried to change them, to most who hated the SDC she was just another part of the problem.

In her private box Winter wore an incredibly neutral smile. Blake supposed Matt was brave. Brave or just stupid. The SDC did not take possible threats, even ones to their good public image, lightly.

Matt didn't seem too fazed by the boos that were now aimed at him, but simply returned to his starting position, dropped into a crouch and drew his weapons. Weiss meanwhile was fazed. She shook her head as though trying to clear her thoughts.

As was always the case, with the two combatants poised, time seemed to slow. The crowd drew in its collective breath in the heavy, pregnant moment in anticipation of what was to come. Absolute silence crashed against Blake's ears. She as well being unable to escape from the primal enrapture that had laid siege to everyone in the stadium.

The call to violence shattered the crystalline stillness in the arena as both combatants finally unleashed the tension in their muscles. Weiss shot forwards, glyphs under her, sand being ripped from the ground by her passsage. Matt rolled away from her telegraphed strike, but not before the speed of Weiss' attack had allowed her to tag him on the arm. Blake glanced at the screens, first _blood_ to Weiss.

Matt leapt to meet her before she recovered, spinning in circles his weapons and limbs lashing out with every revolution as Weiss desperately tried to parry. Every time she managed to block one attack, her sword being pulled to the side, another strike would be incoming from the other.

Weiss flipped backwards, a wall of ice buying her some respite. The rapturous supporters who had received her so warmly on her entrance were beginning to realise this duel may not have the outcome that they desired.

Matt rounded the ice and kept up the pressure. Between his two flashing blades, Weiss just couldn’t regain the initiative. He was just too fast. Too skilled. Blake knew that if Weiss didn’t do something soon she would lose.

The crowd collectively flinched as a gout of flame roared into life and Matt was forced to scramble from its path. The song of clashing metal filled the arena as the two combatants came together, a frantic dance of attacks and ripostes as each sought the fraction of an opening that would give them the upper hand.

For a moment Blake allowed herself to believe that Weiss would come out on top, but then Matt managed to breach her defences with a flurry of blows before a heel to the temple threw her to the sand.

Weiss rose to her knees groggily, eyes glazed, and the disappointment from the spectators was palpable. The favourite's Aura had dropped to just above the critical point. Weiss looked up. She was greeted by her grinning opponents. Opponents plural. Matt had brought his Semblance into play. Mirror images of him surrounded Weiss. Blake knew which one was real, Weiss didn’t.

Shakily Weiss rose to her feet and stumbled towards _Matt_ , Myrtenaster lashing out. The lack of expected resistance caused her to lose her balance and a kick to the hip from the real Matt sent her tumbling to the ground, her right hand imprinting its image into the sand.

The silence in the crowd was absolute as many watched their idol be humiliated. Blake grimaced as she watched Weiss rise again and again, only to be thrown back to the floor. Weiss should have withdrawn, but her immense pride wouldn't allow her to surrender. Blake couldn't watch her friend's degradation anymore and averted her eyes.

And immediately wished she hadn't. Her gaze had alighted on Winter's private box and Blake saw her wish had been granted. Winter's lips no longer bore the superior smirk that had so riled Blake, now like a large portion of the audience she had an expression of something close to horror. It was said that it was unwise to voice your desires even internally in case some malevolent being was watching and would make them come true, just not in the way you wanted.

An old folk story meant to scare greedy children straight, or so Blake had thought. Now with her friend suffering on the sand, she was forced to reassess her belief. For so much of her life she had wanted to bring the Schnees down to the level of the Faunus in their mines, to see the pristine white they so favoured soiled with filth. She should have been enjoying Winter's reaction, but it had come at the price of another Schnee. One she liked. One who was better than the others. One who was her friend. A rueful smile graced her lips, the cruel ironies of the gods.

"Weiss get up!" Ruby's shout was clearly audible to everyone in the stadium.

In the centre of the oval, Weiss drove Myrtenaster into the sand before her. Blue eyes met those of the tormenter in front of her and were unable to find the briefest hint of compassion or mercy. Weiss' jaw set.

Golden light seeped through the sand under the heiress bathing her in its aureolin glow. Matt and his copies took a step back as a slender hand extended outwards. Resolutely, definitively, the hand slashed down.

Colour assaulted Blake's senses. Brilliant blues, dazzling whites, glaring reds and every shade in between, coalesced into an overloading tide that tore at her eyes. Noise was next. Hundreds of individual pressure waves hit the glass protecting the audience and caused it to vibrate in its mounts, amplifying their individual amplitudes into a single cascading roar which set Blake's ears quivering under her bow. The crowd as a whole cowered under the sensory onslaught.

Through the blinding light and high above the maelstrom of the arena Blake saw familiar glyphs spring into existence, numerous and facing each other. Rising from the chaos came two figures, one limp in the air, the other bouncing between the platforms with supernatural speed, throwing the other figure higher with every strike.

They came to an apex far above the ground, higher than the highest tier of seating and froze in the indomitable moment of time as gravity reasserted itself. The dark figure began to fall, but the other, perched on a glyph glowed with luminescence. A brilliant white line burned itself into Blake's retina as the glowing figure shot downwards. A cascade of sand crashed against the protective screen.

After the smoke had cleared all were able to witness the carnage that had taken place in the arena. The pristine oval of sand had been ripped apart. Parts turned to glass. Trenches carved by slivers of ice. Areas blackened by lightning. And in the very centre, in a crater far larger than any other, knelt Weiss, a prone figure by her side.

On firm legs the heiress to the SDC rose, curtseyed to the audience, and left. Medics who streamed past her. Where there should have been rapturous applause in celebration of the favourite's victory, there was only stunned silence as the crowd tried to process what they had just witnessed.

"Fuck."

Blake agreed with the quiet utterance of her partner. The duel had been turned on its head in a matter of heartbeats. One moment Weiss was losing, being humiliated, next… that. As the EMTs gathered around Matt, Blake attempted to piece together what had happened.

Having trained with Weiss she had a better understanding of her capabilities than most and replaying the scene in her head she could come up for an explanation for some of the things that occurred. Weiss appeared to have emptied every single last speck of Dust from Myrtenaster's chambers in one go. Normally she would infuse a glyph with a single element and then unleash it.

In this fight, she’d utilised multiple glyphs at once, combining their powers, but how? It took time to fuse Dust to her glyphs. In this fight she hadn't had it. She'd been constantly on the back foot. While watching the hastily cut together highlights on the screens around the stadium, Blake had an epiphany.

Weiss had had all the time she'd needed when her opponent had been taunting her. Every time she’d fallen, Myrtenaster had pierced the ground. She must have created the glyphs then, buried beneath the sand, glowing with hidden power. A quick flick of her wrist had been all it took to unleash the fury.

The results had certainly been spectacular. Pillars of bright flame, torrents of wind increasing their ferocity. Crystals of ice struck by bolts of lightning, superheating their cores and sending shards ripping through the air. Every elemental combination Blake could have imagined had been brought into existence by their master.

In all the months they had been training together, fought alongside one another, Blake had never witnessed Weiss cut lose before. She was normally content to play the supporting role. This was something different. Even Blake who had fought in skirmishes containing dozens of participants had rarely seen something of the scale that Weiss had released.

It was obviously something that Weiss would only do in the direst of circumstances and Blake hopped for all their sakes Weiss would never have to repeat it for real. In the space of a few seconds she had almost killed her opponent. She may very well have done. Matt hadn’t moved a muscle.

Weiss had unleashed herself and Blake ̶ ̶ looking at the destroyed arena, the enormous bowl carved into the floor, and Weiss' still prostate opponent ̶ ̶ felt a surprising emotion. Rather than pride or happiness as she might have expected, she felt something else. For the first time since they had met by the Beacon air dock, she felt scared of Weiss.

If things had gone differently in her life, they may have faced each other as real foes rather than sparring partners and, judging by what she had seen today, she wasn't at all confident she would have survived. The constant threat against her life seemed to have tempered Weiss into something hard and cold and brutal.

"Fuck," Yang repeated the expletive.

Blake turned to see her partner still staring disbelievingly as the devastation in front of her. Belatedly the announcer declared Weiss the winner while Matt was loaded onto a stretcher and rushed into the bowels of the stadium.

"Did you two know she could do that?" Blake asked over the sound of people rising.

"No… but damn. That was impressive, and scary," Yang said, echoing Blake's earlier thoughts. "I think I may have to lay off teasing her after this."

Ruby shoved her scroll into her pocket. "I'm gonna go to her." Blake detected worry in her voice and without waiting for an answer Ruby zipped off trailing petals.

Now concerned Blake pulled out her own scroll, being so close to Weiss' own scroll she was still able to see Weiss' Aura by virtue of being her teammate. It made for troubling viewing. Her Aura was in the red and still trickling away as it sought to heal her body. Weiss had walked from the arena as though she was uninjured and untroubled by her toils, but from the looks of it she would have stumbled the moment she was out of sight. A façade necessitated by her enormous personal pride.

"We should go too," Blake said. Yang glanced at the proffered scroll, and promptly nodded her agreement.

Together Blake squeezed, and Yang barrelled her way, through the crowds as people flooded down the exit tunnel. Excited conversation echoed off the narrow walls as everyone was crushed together by the mass of bodies.

Blake tried to breathe. She hated being surrounded by people like this, squashed from every side, unable to move, unable to fight, unable to run. The panic threatening to envelop her, pounced as she found she couldn't raise her arms in the crush. Her chest burned. She had to get out. Not cognisant of the protests, she pushed through to the edge of the hall, pressing herself deep into a small alcove out of the stream of spectators.

As vulnerable as she was feeling it took all her strength to keep her hand away from Gambol Shroud and, while her panicked mind was shouting at her to take the offensive, thankfully the more logical side of her brain still held sway. It would only exacerbate the situation as everyone began panicking, running, just like last time…

Yang had fought her way back against the flow, coming to a halt right in front of her, each of her shoulders pressing the corners of the alcove. Through eyelids half screwed up, Blake could see the concern on her face as she took in her cowering partner and her heaving chest.

"Blake, what's wrong?"

Yang stood like a bulwark at the front of her little haven, defending her from the besieging horde. With Yang there she was safe. She concentrated on that fact and reached out, two fingers pressing against Yang's wrist just beneath Ember Celica.

Closing her eyes, she shut everything out until the only sensation she could was the steady pulse of her partner's heart. It was perhaps a little higher than average through worry, but nothing compared to hers. Blake focused on the beat, bringing her own heart into sync with it.

With her diaphragm rising and falling more normally, she opened her eyes and Yang filled her vision. The blonde was obviously perturbed by her behaviour but, rather than question her as many would have done, she’d stood by silently. Ready to give support as required. Blake didn't know if Yang thought all that through, or if it came to her naturally, whatever the case she was grateful.

It was not something she talked about.

"Sorry… I… I really… don't like crowds." At this moment, with chemicals still pouring into her blood stream, that was the best she could do.

Yang took it in her stride. "I don't either." She retreated a step back into the tunnel, now much emptier with the initial rush to the exit over. It was mostly full of families with young children and more elderly spectators. People who hadn't wanted to risk the crowds, and normally Blake would have waited with them, but today _Weiss…_

"Come on. Let's go and thanks." Blake flashed a reserved smile at her friend as she moved past her.

* * *

 

The click of the door to the preparation room opening preceded the sound of a heated discussion from within.

"Ruby, I said no." Weiss seemed to be channelling her last reserves of strength into her indignant remark.

"Please Weiss, just a lick, for me." Ruby pled to her partner sounding desperate.

"I refuse. I am not putting that _thing_ anywhere near my tongue."

"Please. How about I go first?" A brief pause. "See? Nothing to worry about."

"Ruby, that's… that's gross." Weiss sounded mortified.

"It's not that bad. It tastes nice."

"That's only because it's yours, but I'm not doing it."

"Please Weiss, just once. Deep down you know you'll like it."

Blake and Yang froze and they shared an incredulous look at what they were overhearing. The voices were emanating from behind a wall of lockers, near the entrance to the showers, and judging by the steam curling near the roof, they’d been used recently.

It was all too similar to one of the scenes from her favourite book series, but surely not. The two of them couldn't be talking about what Blake thought they were. Couldn't be re-enacting that particular chapter. They hadn't even read it. That was her initial reason for the rejection of her hypothesis, before she remembered they weren't even in a relationship. But as the conversation continued, perhaps that had changed.

Yang had very quietly closed the door and pressed a finger to her lips, indicating her desire for stealth. Blake was slightly disturbed by the slightly manically gleeful look on her face. She’d obviously set her sights on enough blackmail material to last several lifetimes. Blake followed her to the end of the row of lockers blocking their view.

The two of them then proceeded to have a frantic non-verbal argument about who would have to take the plunge and look round the corner, with Yang winning out partly due to her not wanting to see her sister doing what they thought they were doing, and partly due to her just manhandling Blake towards the precipice.

Steadying herself at the edge, Blake took a deep breath, as much as this was an invasion of privacy, she couldn't help but wonder how accurately they were replicating the scene. Ever so slowly, with her body tense she peeked around the corner, before her shoulders slumped with disappointment.

If the two of them were intending to bring fictional imagery to life, they were doing it wrong. No candles, no flowers, not even any ribbons. Oh, and they still had their clothes on. Her illicit dream shattered Blake stepped into view with Yang in tow.

Ruby had trapped Weiss in a corner and was thrusting a half crumbled cookie towards her mouth as the heiress recoiled from it.

"Ruby, I am not eating that disgusting cookie."

"Come on, you need to eat something."

"I will, just not a cookie that's been in your pocket for who knows how long and now has your saliva all over it." She spotted the other pair. "Yang, Blake, tell her it's revolting."

Blake couldn't help but feel annoyance that they hadn't entered the room a minute later. It would have helped them avoid the whole anticlimactic situation. Yang, as a glass half full kind of girl, grasped the positives from their eavesdropping. It seemed her newfound resolve not to tease Weiss had lasted all of five minutes, or perhaps it was because Myrtenaster was safely out of her reach.

"So that's what you two were doing. It sounded a lot like something else." The seated pair gave her blank looks. "You know, with Ruby wanting you to lick something of hers."

Their two gazes went to the cookie still in Ruby's outstretched hand and back to her, confusion twisting their features. Blake traded a glance with Yang who was barely holding in her laughter. They couldn't be that naïve.

"What are you on about?" Weiss said, still not catching on.

"You know… With Ruby wanting you to lick something of hers… Something that might seem gross, but actually isn't… Something you could have reservations about, but might actually like…" With her subtle references bouncing off them Yang, decided to be more uncouth. "From where we were it sounded as though Ruby was asking you to lick her pussy."

Weiss' reaction was everything that Yang could have hoped for. First she lost all her innate poise as she spluttered before turning bright scarlet, pushing her way past Ruby, and advancing on Yang like a Valkyrie. Through without her boots on, she was of course an incredibly short, and not particularly intimidating Valkyrie. Blake failed to stifle her giggles, as she pressed her back against a locker to avoid the tempest.

"You uncultured, ill mannered, boorish, vulgar philistine. How could you possibly think that? You repugnant, abhorrent…" Weiss continued her tirade. At some point in her life, her lessons seemed to have involved her swallowing a thesaurus.

Though Weiss' reaction was amusing, what was more interesting was Ruby's. Though she’d joined Weiss in blushing furiously, from behind her back she was also making frantic slashing gestures across her throat.

Not that Yang was planning to pay her sister any attention. She was enjoying it too much. Standing with her arms crossed, a head taller than her attacker, her cheeks were quivering in attempt to stop herself bursting out in raucous laughter. Which only seemed to annoy Weiss more. Not that Yang could help but utilise her experience as a big sister to get a few extra well placed jabs in.

"So, you're saying you would prefer it if Ruby licked yours instead?"

Weiss spluttered once more before ramping up the ferocity of her verbal assault. If Yang kept pushing her Blake half expected Weiss to start comically beating on Yang's chest like a child. Well, that or make a lunge for the hilt of Myrtenaster and kill her. And possibly the rest of them as well in the crossfire.

Mindful of the inherent danger of her action, Blake carefully squeezed between the two of them, ensuring that her Semblance was prepped to get her out the way if things got physical. With her vision of Yang obscured Weiss turned her ire on Blake.

"And don't think you're getting out of this. She said we. I'd expect this kind of depravity from that brute, but not from you Blake."

Blake held up her hands in surrender. "I'm sorry Weiss, and I'm sure Yang wants to apologise as well."

The situation partially deescalated, she stepped to the side in time to observe Yang swallow down most of her laughter.

"I'm sorry too." It almost sounded sincere, but Blake knew her partner too well to buy it. "But Ruby's right, you need to eat something sugary. So to make it up to you, how about we all go and get ice cream. My treat." Ruby's head had perked up excitedly at the prospect and before Weiss could agree, Yang added a final stipulation. "But Ruby's ordering for you. I'm not having you just pick a single scoop like you normally do." When Weiss looked like she was about to refuse Yang spoke again. "Or if you prefer we can continue where we left off."

"Fine." Weiss turned away, unwrapping the towel which contained her wet hair and sat back down next to Ruby.

Weiss was almost ready to leave when the door opened again. The click of heels gave her an idea of who it might be and was proved correct when everyone's favourite person came into view, her constant shadow in tow.

Winter still looked beautiful, but the friendly, approachable air she had held in the public eye of the stands was gone. In its place she radiated fury.

"What the hell was that?" She looked to be several levels past angry, and her voice came out quiet and cold.

Weiss now in her heels had risen to confront her sister.

"What was what Winter?" The tension in the air between them racked up.

"That," Winter spat the word. "You, getting beaten. By an animal."

"In case it slipped your mind Winter, I won."

"Oh yes you won. Well done to you. Now you can get humiliated in the next round as well. Because that was what happened Weiss. That animal disrespected us and then he humiliated you, and in association, me. What do you think the rest of the vermin will think when they see the replays? I'm sure the White Fang are cutting it into a promotional package as we speak. This is precisely the reason I didn't want you competing."

"And anyone watching will also have seen me win. Whatever you might think of him. He was an exceptionally talented fighter and to lull him into a false sense of security was the only feasible plan. And then Winter I won, so no I did not get humiliated."

"Oh yes, it was a great plan, truly magnificent. As I had to tell a dozen reporters on my way down here." The seething anger in her voice vanished as she mimicked the excited tone she must have used for the interviews. "Oh yes, I'm so proud of my sister. She was incredible out there. It was breath-taking to watch. No I wasn't worried I know how good she is. Yes everyone at the SDC is rooting for her. Yes, I'm actually on my way to congratulate her now."

The blizzard returned full force. "A great plan, if your plan was to allow him to kick you around the arena. If it was the only feasible way you could win, then you admit you shouldn't be fighting in the tournament."

"Winter, he was a third year. I wasn't expected to beat him but I did. I'm one of the crowd's favourites. So actually I do think I deserve to be in this tournament."

Yang and Ruby added their vocal support for Weiss' accomplishments, but Winter's retort contained such venom it rocked them back. "You do not talk."

"Weiss, you disgraced the family name. But you're right. The masses, for some reason I cannot fathom, support you. Take solace in that being the only reason you are not on a flight home at this very moment."

Weiss laughed in her sister's immaculate face. "Of course I disgraced the family name. That's what I am. The disgrace of the family." She did an imitation of a deep, male voice. "Weiss, I'm very disappointed in you. You only got ninety nine point five percent on your exam. You're a disgrace.

"So to be honest Winter, it doesn't really bother me all that much anymore. You're proving my point. Even when I win I disgrace the family. What will you have left to insult me with if I lose? So Winter, I will continue fighting in the tournament, and if I lose it will be because I came up against someone better than me. I can accept that. You and father need to learn to accept it as well.

"Schnees do not have a monopoly on all the skills in the world. Some people are better than us at the things they do, take Erashan." Weiss gestured at the silent bodyguard. "You have to admit he is a much better fighter than either you or father. So are you disgraced? No. You employ him and utilise his skills as your own. That's what we do."

Winter didn't seem to be able to find a meaningful comeback that would contradict Weiss' statement. Perfect lips opened and closed, but no sound emerged.

Erashan gave her an out. "Winter, you’re going to be late for your meeting."

She took a step towards him, before spinning back to her sister, the fury reigniting. "This does not happen again, or I will drag you back to Atlas kicking and screaming." Winter had managed to get the last words in, but they were hollow when compared to Weiss' well-structured argument.

The sound of heels fading down the hallway. Weiss blew out her cheeks and practically collapsed onto the nearest bench. She’d actually managed to come out of her confrontation with her smooth taking sister better off.

"Weiss, that was incredible." Ruby rushed up and threw her arms around her partner.

"Thanks," Weiss seemed to be giddy with the rush of her success and, despite looking absolutely drained and exhausted, she wore an exultant grin.

Surprisingly Yang was the sombre one in the room. "Weiss, why do you put yourself through that? It can't be healthy when having a simple conversation with your sister takes that much out of you. Why don't you just cut ties with them? I mean if you're worried about money, huntresses can make a fair bit, and we could always help you out. If you're worried about what will happen in the summer you could always come and stay with us. I mean, I know they're your family, but I can't stand seeing you get hurt every time they come up." She finished lamely, as though she realised what she had suggested in the spur of the moment.

"Yang, I know they're difficult, but they're my family and I will not give them the satisfaction of allowing them to push me down the path they want. I could very well cut ties with them as you suggested. Money isn't an issue. I've always known one day my father may attempt to isolate me from the SDC. I'm prepared for it, I have enough capital in my personal accounts to live comfortably, and I actually own several other businesses outright."

Weiss rose and faced Yang resolutely. "But I will not cut ties. I will not take the easy way out. That would give them exactly what they wanted. Me out the way and Winter at the helm to continue my father's sordid practices. I will not allow that to happen. If my father tries to annul my legal claim to the inheritance of the company, I have ensured that he will find it extremely difficult, and I will drag him through every court in the land before I allow it to happen.

"I told you before, I refuse to let my family's legacy end with him or my sister. One day I will take control of my birth right. I will wrest the SDC from his clutches. And then I will make sure its actual business practices live up to its public image. When I am ready to hand the company on to my successor, it will be better than I found it, and so will the world be. So no, I will not cut ties."

Her voice became softer as she took Yang's hands in hers. "But it means a lot knowing I will always have somewhere to go.”

In Mountain Glenn Weiss had told the two of them a little about why she was doing what she was doing, but hearing her plan in more detail was enlightening. Knowing her inner strength of character, Blake believed that Weiss may very well be able to take control of the SDC. But then what? To make any sort of difference she would have to jump through a number of bureaucratic and economic hoops.

Hers was a noble goal. Blake didn't know if Weiss would manage to change the world, but what she did know is she would be by Weiss’ side every step of the way. No matter what happened.

"So, who wants ice cream?" Yang's question drew her out of her reverie. "What you having Rubes?"

Ruby immediately began excitedly chattering about every possible combination she could think of as Yang threw her arm around Weiss shoulders and steered her to the door. "Do you want a bowl or cone Weiss?"

Blake walking directly behind them heard Weiss' reply.

"Ruby normally gets a bowl, so I guess I'll be having the same as her." She didn't sound all that enthusiastic, something noted by the blonde.

"You know, I think this time Ruby might be getting a cone." Yang put on her best seductive voice. "And I'm sure if you ask really nicely, Ruby will let you lick hers."

Weiss spluttered once more and the laughter that Blake and her partner had stifled earlier finally erupted, bouncing through the deserted halls.

**A/N: This was a lot of fun to write again; anyway I hope you enjoyed and if you can please leave a review.**

 


	9. Chapter 9

"I can't believe you've never done this before." Yang smiled as she followed Weiss.

"Well it's not like I had any need to and anyway, I think I'm getting the hang of it." Weiss studied the nutritional information on two different varieties of biscuits as Yang leant up against the handle of their shopping trolley.

Grocery shopping with Weiss was certainly a lot more interesting than it would have been with anyone else. For other people this would be a boring chore, not an important examination which she was sure she had actually seen Weiss researching before they came. Of course Weiss had minimised the window after becoming aware of Yang's approach, but not before she’d managed to glimpse something that looked awfully like the floor plan of the building they were in.

Weiss placed the four boxes of biscuits in her hands neatly into the cart, perfectly square to the things already inside, not dumped on top of them like Yang would normally.

"Ok, the next thing on the list is, and I quote, _lots of chocolate._ " She rolled her eyes and Yang suppressed a laugh as the heiress moved off.

Ruby had pulled rank on the pair of them to send them shopping for their party. Their esteemed leader had decided that they all deserved to celebrate winning their first two matches and surviving the first week of the tournament. Of course while Weiss may consider it a waste of valuable training time, she was once again forced to go along with it due to the power of democracy.

Weiss appeared to have followed Ruby's order to letter as she returned with _lots of chocolate_. Yang couldn't help noticing something about the brands Weiss was choosing.

"So, these are all the most nutritious are they?"

"Of course not. It's still chocolate, but they were better than the others."

"Really? Because to me it seems as though they just happen to be the most expensive brands. Just like everything else. But I'm sure you checked all the labels thoroughly."

"Of course I did. I can't help it if price is representative of quality." Weiss sounded indignant as she usually did when someone questioned her competency, but pale cheeks turning pink told Yang she had struck close to home.

"So what's next?"

Weiss looked at the list on her scroll. " _Disposable cups and plates_. Finally something actually useful." She closed her eyes for a moment, pupils moving beneath the lids. "They should be three aisles to the right of us."

"It's really impressive you know that Weiss. I guess you just have great intuition or… maybe you looked up the layout of the shop before we came."

Yang's tried her hardest not to laugh as Weiss wordlessly moved her mouth. Weiss was just so easy to tease. It really didn't seem fair. Not that that was going to stop her. It was actually pretty endearing that Weiss had taken the time to research something as basic as grocery shopping. It showed just how abnormal her childhood had been that she’d never bought basic living supplies before.

Their cart steadily filled up with all the things that Ruby thought you would need for a party, and some things Yang was sure they wouldn't. Occasionally someone in the store recognised them and asked for an autograph or a photo, both of which they were only too happy to provide.

"Right that's everything." Weiss closed the application on her scroll.

Yang looked aghast as her eyes roved over the contents of their cart, though it contained plenty of expensive products, it was missing one vital thing.

"Umm… no it isn't. Where's the alcohol?"

"Yang, I'm underage. So is Ruby." Weiss' tone was that of someone explaining something to a simpleton.

"Well, I'm not, and neither is Blake. Plus it's like totally illegal to have a party without alcohol."

Yang couldn't help but smirk as Weiss took a moment too long to discount that last part. She’d probably been scanning the vaults of her brain to see if she had heard of that law before. Really, it was too easy.

"No, it's not." Weiss sounded confident in that. "But I suppose if you want you could buy some alcohol, but only for you two. I'm not drinking any and neither is Ruby.

Weiss really was a stickler for the rules, but at least she had made this concession. Hand exploring her pocket Yang realised something. "Uhh… I didn't bring any money."

"Really, you came to Vale without money." At Yang's sheepish nod, she spoke again. "Fine. I guess I'm paying for everything else anyway."

Relief that they weren't about to have the lamest party of all time flooded through Yang as well as a certain amount of anticipation. They had all seen Weiss use her weird unmarked cards, and what she wouldn't give for just ten minutes with one. All that power contained in such a small piece of plastic. But disappointment followed as Weiss bypassed her cards and instead handed Yang a few notes.

"Right, let’s meet out the front. Ok?" At Yang's nod Weiss took control of the trolley and headed towards the checkouts.

Finally looking down at her hands Yang began thinking about what she could buy, before abruptly stopping. Though the top had been a ten lien note, the other five were hundreds. Weiss had just handed her over half a grand ̶ ̶ without batting an eyelid ̶ ̶ to buy _drinks_. And she hadn't even emptied her purse of notes. Just how much did Weiss feel it was necessary to carry around with her?

Still the prospective alcohol budget for their party had just risen significantly, although Yang would never dream of spending even the majority of it. Unless of course Weiss expected her to spend it. Perhaps time spent attending balls were thousand lien bottles of wine were served had altered her perception of the price of alcohol. No, Yang pushed away that train of thought. She wouldn't waste her friend's money like that, even if Weiss probably wouldn't have minded.

Yang caught up with her teammate standing outside the entrance, bags still in their trolley. Weiss actually looked proud that she had overcome this simple ̶ ̶ but to her unfamiliar ̶ ̶ hurdle and Yang swelled with joy. Slowly but surely Weiss was really coming out of her shell.

"You gave me a little too much." Yang handed back four of the larger notes. She had restricted herself, but the two bags of bottles she carried still ensured they would have a good time.

"Oh." Weiss didn't bother counting the notes as she put them back in their compartment. She then continued to stand there expectantly.

Once more Yang hid a grin, Weiss was waiting for someone to collect their shopping. "I'll take these. You take the rest."

To her credit Weiss managed to quickly catch on that normal grocery shopping didn't involve chauffeurs and gathered up her portion of the bags. Yang had deliberately selected the heavier ones from the cart. In her opinion Weiss was still too thin, and she knew that if the bags were too heavy for Weiss, her pride would ensure she'd struggle on without asking for help.

Weiss seemed to be enjoying the weather as they walked. Contrary to her pale skin Yang knew she loved lounging in the sunshine. She seemed to revel in the climate that was much warmer than the frigid chill of her homeland. Since splitting up with Neptune ̶ ̶ both of who told different stories about who broke up with whom, but of course Weiss' story was much more believable ̶ ̶ Weiss just seemed so much happier. She was normally smiling sure, but now Yang thought it was actually real. Actually reflective of her inner emotions, and not what she thought she should display to the world.

It looked good on her. Weiss had flourished under the added pressure of the tournament and Winter. It all showed in how she carried herself now. Weiss had always portrayed confidence, but now she looked comfortable in whatever situation she found herself in. Surrounded by fans, talking to the press, shopping for groceries, nothing seemed to faze her anymore.

"Hey Weiss, do you want to take a detour through the park?"

"Sure."

Even unexpected changes to their plans didn't rile her anymore. Instead Weiss led the way, looking resplendent in her thin pale blue sundress. The bags weighing down her arms didn't ruin her inherent grace and she weaved between all the people already enjoying the expansive lawns and flowerbeds. For most trapped within the enormous walls that ringed the city, the public parks were the closest they would ever get to real nature.

Sure there was actually nothing enforcing their imprisonment, people could leave whenever they wanted and many would try and forge a life outside the city of Vale. To do that however you had to be brave. When professional assistance against the Grimm was often days away. You had to learn to how to defend yourself. The government barely helped.

There was nothing forcing people to stay within the walls, apart from fear. Fear of the Grimm and fear of the unknown. Few would take their families from the safe haven they had always known. For most the supposed benefits of living outside the cities just wasn't worth it.

Yang pitied them. They would never see the beauty of a dawn over a crystal clear lake, or the majesty of a sunset whilst perched on a tree in the depths of the forest of Forever Fall. That was why there were so many parks dotted throughout Vale. They were just a brief microcosm of the wider world. One without the inherent fear.

The pair of them talked about whatever crossed their minds. Inconsequential things. Things that didn't matter in the slightest. Weiss kept shifting the bags in her hands and Yang could see her muscles beginning to shake. But, of course Weiss would never dream of complaining, not while someone else wasn't, she would struggle on. But Yang decided not today.

"Uhh, Weiss do you mind if we take a rest? My arms are killing me."

Weiss turned to her and looked over the well-defined muscles in her arms, which weren't showing the slightest sign of outward fatigue. A perfect eyebrow arched quizzically, but she gave the smallest smile and nodded.

They walked to a bench situated slightly off from the path and Weiss set her bags down gratefully. As Yang sat beside her, the heiress surreptitiously rubbed her biceps. Yang grinned. At some point she really had to get Weiss to hit the weights.

The slats of the bench were warm under her bare thighs and they sat there in silence watching the world go by. Children playing, dogs running, adults reading, in the glorious sunshine the park was bustling with carefree life and the two huntresses savoured it.

After a time Weiss broke the silence. "What was Ruby like at Signal?"

Yang paused for a moment to consider how to answer the unexpected question. "That's quite difficult to answer. In some ways she was pretty similar to how she is now and in others she's changed so much. She was a lot quieter, more nervous around people she didn't know. She wasn't as decisive as she is now. She's really grown into leadership. But one of things about her that's never going to change is she was obsessed with weapons. Like, she actually had a problem. She'd spend pretty much all her evenings improving Crescent Rose. If she saw someone with a weapon design she didn't recognise, all her reservations would be forgotten, and it was all I could do to hold her back. But I'm sure you've experienced that side of her."

They shared a smile. "Did she have many friends?"

"Not really. I mean, she had people she could talk to in class and sit with if I wasn't around, but I don't think they were really good friends. They were more just acquaintances out of necessity. She didn't really hang around with them when she didn't have to. She'd always prefer to spend her time in the workshops. Certainly she didn't have a friend like you at Signal." Yang wasn't really sure where Weiss was going with this conversation.

"So… she didn't have a boyfriend or anything?"

So that was it. Weiss tried to sound casual as though it was the natural progression to the conversation. For a while now Yang had had suspicions about her teammate, based on things Weiss probably didn't even realise she was doing. The odd furtive glance, wetting her lips before she talked, playing with her hair. Little things that all added up.

The common factor in all those scenarios common was they usually occurred in the presence of the one who was the subject of their conversation. Yang was forced to phrase her answer carefully.

"No, she never had a boyfriend," Weiss perked up almost imperceptibly. "Or a girlfriend. As far as I know she was never romantically involved with anyone at Signal."

"Oh…" Weiss looked away at the people frolicking in the grass.

That reaction definitely confirmed it. Weiss had a crush on her sister at the very least. Perhaps some would be protective in this situation, but after seeing how much Ruby had changed in the time she had known Weiss and vice-versa, they were good together. If they wanted to take it a step further, who was she to stop them?

They were almost complete opposites in their personalities. One a refined studious aristocrat, the other a weapon obsessed klutz, but in their differences they complimented each other perfectly. In fact Yang would probably be one of the biggest cheerleaders to their relationship, but there was still a major problem. Without knowing Ruby's opinions on the match, Weiss was going to have to be the one to make the move and, as socially introverted as she was, it probably wouldn't happen without a big push.

First things first though, Weiss had to actually admit it to someone.

"Weiss, can I ask you a personal question?"

Alabaster hair whipped out as her head swung round and her eyes alighted on Yang suspiciously, she very rarely spoke about herself. "Umm… ok."

It was a start. Yang knew she had to phrase it carefully. Too crude and Weiss wouldn't answer, but too indirect and Weiss would probably never get the undertones of the conversation. She decided to keep it simple.

"Do you like girls? I mean as well as liking boys?"

"What?"

Though the word was questioning Yang could see the subtle increase in tension around her eyes that told her she had understood at least the direction of the conversation. Time to be a bit more confrontational.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but are bi or gay?" She decided to add the extra bit just in case Neptune was an exploratory phase.

Weiss looked like a rabbit cornered by a Beowolf, her eyes frantically searched for an escape even while she went on the attack.

"Of course I'm not. It's wrong and immoral and unnatural and disgusting."

The words were spoken far too quickly. It was an automatic response as though she was reading from a script. Reciting words from memory rather than speaking from her heart. Having met her sister, Yang could guess that Weiss' family probably wouldn't be all that pleased about having someone with _abnormal_ preferences around.

Weiss looked ready to bolt and Yang was ready to stop her if that was the case. It would do her far more damage to flee from the situation than to confront it. Even so Yang had to tread carefully.

"Yes, that is how some people may view it. Definitely not how I view it though. But the question is Weiss, how do you feel about it?"

"It's wrong and immor…" Weiss trailed off at the disappointed look that was directed her way from Yang as she started to repeat whatever had been drilled into her. Her head dipped until she was looking between her knees at her shoes.

It came out as a barely audible whisper which tentatively flitted across the space between them. "I think it's ok."

Joy filled Yang's heart. Weiss had made the first step. Now she just needed a little more coaxing. "I think it's ok too. Personally I'm bi, but that's just the way I roll."

Weiss' head had snapped up at the completely casual confession to something she had obviously been taught was one of the worst aspects of herself.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of Weiss. No matter what anyone had told you." Weiss appeared sceptical at that. "But if I'm guessing correctly, you like Ruby. Don't you?"

The floor by her shoes suddenly became the most interesting thing in the universe as Weiss returned to studying it. Eventually she gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"That's great Weiss."

"It's not though. You said she was straight." Weiss still spoke quietly and had heard only what she feared to hear.

"No. What I said was that I didn't know. She might be straight. She might not be. The only way you're going to find out is to ask her. Have you told her that you're gay?" If Weiss had confessed to anyone it would have been Ruby. Just another reason they would be perfect together.

Weiss nodded.

"And how did she react?"

"She said it wouldn't change anything between us. But that's just it. It wouldn't change anything."

Yang tried to hide a smirk; Weiss really was a little sister in this situation. "Did you really expect her to throw herself at you? Would you if she came out to you tomorrow? I can guess it was incredibly difficult for you to say it to her. Do you really think Ruby would take advantage of your emotional state? No matter what she was feeling on the inside?"

"But what if she's straight?"

"Then she's straight. There's nothing that you can do to change that. Nor should you want to. I'm afraid I can't offer you any comfort there Weiss. I honestly have no idea to her preferences. But what I can say it's clear to me that she likes you. A lot. She's closer to you than anyone else I've seen before. I can't say if that's purely down to her being your friend or if there's more to it. If I had to guess, I would say with the way she's been acting around you there might be something more. But it's just a guess. The only way you will find out is if you ask her."

"But she's my best friend. I don't want to ruin that. I don't want her to hate me."

"Weiss, I want you to remember this. To sear it into your mind. No matter what you do, Ruby will never hate you. You could do the most terrible things imaginable to her and she would forgive you. That's just who she is. Would she hate you if you tell her you like her? Not a chance. Sure it might change your relationship slightly, but she would still be your best friend no matter what."

Yang could see that Weiss still didn't look convinced.

"Do you like being around her?" Weiss nodded. "Does she make you happy?" Again Weiss nodded. "Then think about how much better it could be if you're actually going out. When you're in a relationship with someone really special to you, even the greyest days are beautiful. That's what you could be missing out on. All you do have to do is work up the courage and ask."

"Couldn't you ask her?"

"I could, but I didn't think you were a coward Weiss. Do you think Ruby would rather hear the question from me or you?"

Weiss blew out her cheeks. "I'll think about asking her tomorrow."

"The funny thing about tomorrow is that it never actually comes. You could ask her tomorrow, but that means you'll be missing out on all the possible happiness that asking her today could bring. We never know what is going to happen in this life Weiss. The only thing we do know is it will change. Tomorrow something could happen and you could lose this opportunity. Do you really want to regret it for the rest of your life?" She let Weiss ponder that question in silence.

"Thank you Yang, for the advice, and for accepting me."

Yang pulled her into a hug. "No problem."

"But I have to ask that you keep it all to yourself. I still can't risk Winter finding out. It's why I didn't want to tell you or Blake."

Yang grinned sheepishly. "To be honest I think Blake has probably guessed the same way I did. You probably weren't as inconspicuous as you might think." Weiss looked horrified that her secret was out, but Yang couldn't stop there. "And I think Pyrrha might suspect it as well."

"What?" Weiss' face was doing its best imitation of Pyrrha's hair.

"She sort of said you two would make a cute couple."

"Kill me." It was quiet but Yang still heard it.

"Weiss it's ok. I promise I won't say anything and the other two aren't exactly gossips either. Your secret is safe as long as you feel you need to keep it a secret. Are you ok?"

"I suppose. Are you sure you won't kill me?"

"No luck there I'm afraid." Yang laughed before taking on a serious expression. "But now I have to do my big sister talk. If you do end up asking Ruby out and she agrees, you better not ever hurt her. Because if you break her heart, I'll break you. Understand?"

Weiss gulped at the very real menace in her voice. "If I break her heart, I'll deserve it."

"Good, at least we've got that out the way and good luck Weiss. I'll be rooting for you."

* * *

 

The party really wasn't all that bad. It certainly wasn't what Weiss had expected. Her past experience of parties was of awkward social gatherings where no one actually liked each other. The word party had to her become a synonym for misery, but this one was different. Or maybe it was different because it wasn't all that different from the time they usually spent together. J

Just a little more relaxed, with good food and nice conversation. Of course it couldn't all be perfect and the awful music pounding out the speakers was something that should be declared a method of torture. Why anyone would vote to listen to that auto-tuned rubbish when there were classic symphonies readily available was beyond her. There were some things that democracy just shouldn't have control over.

Like always, she was content to stand on the periphery of the conversations and listen to her more boisterous friends. And they were even louder than usual thanks to the bottles and paper cups in their hands. Personally she had never really seen the attraction in alcohol. She had witnessed too many people ruin their careers whilst they were in the grip of the vice. But in moderation it seemed ok. The others were certainly enjoying themselves.

It was still almost unbelievable to think that all of these people were her friends. She liked them all, even Jaune now he had stopped hitting on her. Not that she had talked to him. He seemed to be a little distracted after all. It turned out that his Semblance was that he didn't actually need to breathe air, and judging by her observations he could share his power with Pyrrha. A hypothesis reinforced as she watched them lock lips for an impossibly long duration for the umpteenth time.

Those thoughts inexorably brought hers towards Ruby. She still didn't know what she was going to do. The thought of losing her friend still terrified her. No matter what Yang had said. But the change that had come over Pyrrha and Jaune since they had started dating was obvious. They spent most of their time with an unfocused smile on their faces even when they were apart. She wanted to experience that change, but her first hurdle would be to overcome her nerves.

Taking another sip of the fruit drink in her hand, she snuck a sidelong glance at Ruby. It really wasn't fair that she looked that cute when she was barely even trying. She’d just thrown on her cocktail dress and tights about twenty minutes before people started arriving. Of course she was still wearing her cloak, which somehow managed to work with her outfit. Whereas Weiss had been forced to begin her preparation an hour earlier, and still looked nowhere as good as Ruby did.

Their room was starting to feel a little crowded now, as well as JNPR and Sun ̶ ̶ thankfully Neptune hadn't turned up ̶ ̶ Coco seemed to have deduced that there was a party somewhere on campus and had dragged her team to it. Of course any room with Yatsuhashi in it felt a lot smaller than it actually was, and the party had spilled out into the hall and JNPR's dormitory with Zwei zipping between the rooms excitedly.

Out of anyone she had met at Beacon she probably had the most in common with Coco. They were both Atlesian nobles, even if the Adels were a lesser house. They both could have been socialites, but had instead chosen to the more difficult path of becoming huntresses. Though admittedly they both still enjoyed the finer things in life and had the financial resources to afford them. Coco was always impeccably dressed and usually looked like she had just stepped off of a catwalk, with today being no exception.

One of the traits that she didn't share with Coco was that attitude she took towards parties. Coco had arrived already under the influence, and she’d been forced to grit her teeth as Coco greeted Ruby with a kiss on either cheek. Even though she knew there was nothing to it, it still riled her.

It seemed as though despite her best efforts to conceal her feelings towards her partner they just kept escaping and, as much as she desired not to admit it, it was likely that the smirk Velvet had given her while they talking meant she had cottoned on to it as well. At this rate the entirety of Beacon would know within the week. She had to do something before someone told her partner.

The fruit punch really was excellent. Without realising it she’d drained yet another cup. It was light and fruity and contained something else she couldn't quite put her finger on, but it whatever it was it certainly worked. She’d have to ask Yang what the recipe was.

Ruby let out a shriek and Weiss immediately felt her body tense for combat. Eyes alighting on blushing Ruby, her preparation for combat didn't diminish despite the lack of danger. Coco had slapped Ruby's incredibly shapely posterior in summation to her story. Deep down Weiss knew she had no logical foundation to the jealousy flaring up inside of her, but still the sight of Ruby giggling at the attention was a hard pill to swallow. In a way that was rude enough to make her old etiquette tutor feint, she interjected herself into Ruby and Coco's conversation.

"Weissy," Coco greeted her. Weiss was forced to grit her teeth at that. It was almost as bad as ice queen. Ruby betrayed her by giggling which just set Coco off again. The two of them doubling over with laughter.

After around a minute of clutching her sides, Coco took another sip of her sparkling wine before addressing Weiss again.

"We were just discussing who would you rather: Professor Ozpin or Professor Goodwitch?" Coco's cheeks were tensed up with the effort of her trying to contain her mirth.

Weiss didn't understand the looks she was receiving. The answer was obvious. Professor Goodwitch, though strict, was an excellent teacher, and as far as she knew Ozpin never actually taught classes. There had to be more to it than that. "Rather what?"

Coco let out another giggle at that, before her voice dropped an octave, becoming sensual and slipping back into her natural accent. "Which one would you rather have a hot, passionate, fiery love making session with Weiss? The firm, resolute headmaster, or the buxom blonde who you know would make your more illicit fantasies come true." The sound and gesture of a whip snapping finished her question.

The other two practically collapsed with laughter at the scandalised look on her face. Never had she heard a more inappropriate question. They were their teachers and who knows how much older to boot.

What on Remnant was Coco thinking asking that? It was unbelievable that it was coming from someone of Coco's standing, she should have been better bred. Her family certainly needed to get a complete refund from whoever had supposedly taught her how to behave in social situations. Weiss had never had much occasion to interact with Coco at the Atlesian balls, but she was glad of it now.

"So Weissy which one?" Coco had managed to surface from her giggles long enough to get that out.

Spluttering at Coco's audacity, Weiss felt a hand in the small of her back.

"Coco, leave her alone." Velvet proved her saviour as she joined their conversation. The timid girl was much more confident than she usually was. The drink in her hand probably proving the reason.

"Come on Velves, we're just having some fun aren't we Ruby." Again Weiss felt the sting of betrayal as Ruby nodded at her partner's expense.

"See," Coco wrapped her arm around Velvet's shoulders. "Actually that's what we need more of, fun.” She raised her voice so most would be able to hear it over the music. "Who wants to play some games?"

Really there were several signs that Weiss should have given more attention. Whether it was Velvet's suddenly panicked look and her frantic attempts to escape the arm clutching her, or Fox and Yatsuhashi immediately making a beeline for the exit, dragging Sun out the door with them, or the unintelligible words Velvet tried to utter through the palm clamped over her mouth.

No, instead she remained silent, and in her naivety suspecting they might play charades. A beaming Coco forced a still struggling Velvet down onto the carpet at her feet and bade the others to sit in a circle as well.

Once she was sure Velvet was resigned to her fate she grabbed a bottle of sparkling wine—the same bottle that Yang had nearly killed someone with earlier as she opened the metal cage built into its top and sent the cork ricocheting around the room—drained the last liquid from inside of it and placed it on a book in the centre of the ring.

* * *

 

Never again. Never again would Weiss even remotely consider taking part in any game suggested by Coco. The premise itself was completely absurd. In a clockwise direction one by one they would spin the bottle in the centre of the circle and they would then ask whoever it landed on to pick truth or dare. If you didn't like one you were allowed to switch, but then you couldn't go back.

Now it would have been bad enough with both the overexcited Nora and tipsy Yang, but at least Yang had a modicum of decency. Which was an entire modicum more than Coco. Weiss had no idea how anyone who had grown up in Atlesian high society had turned into such a vulgar philistine.

Coco had very much set the general tone for the game when her first spin landed on Weiss. Expecting a question like Velvet had just asked Blake, ‘ _What was her favourite book?’_ She’d foolishly selected truth. Coco's question had not been about her literary preferences. No instead she had enquired, in much more unrefined language, ‘W _hat did she prefer to pleasure herself with?’_

Of course most of the room had found that hilariously funny. Only increased by spray of punch from her mouth. It had taken her over a minute to be able to form coherent thoughts again. A minute of turning an ever deepening shade of red. On occasion when alone, she sometimes relieved the pressure, but there was absolutely no way she was going to admit that to them. It would completely ruin her public image.

Spluttering out dare, she’d felt only horror as Coco's grin widened. Apparently Coco desired her to streak across campus in her undergarments and place a hand on the memorial fountain before coming back. Once again Weiss could only come to the conclusion that that girl had absolutely no moral compass.

Very graciously Coco had decided that if someone didn't want to do their second choice, they could get out of it. But as might have been expected it wasn't exactly pleasant, they had to remove one item of clothing.

So it came to it after going round the circle several times, Weiss was sitting next to Ruby bereft of her heels, stockings and jewellery ̶ ̶ which much to her indignation wasn't allowed to count as multiple pieces ̶ ̶ and Weiss was wondering why on Remnant she had ever agreed to participate.

Over the last half hour she’d learnt many interesting, and some disturbing, things about the people she had surrounded herself with. Ren's love of gardening; or that Jaune could apparently waltz; or Coco who, completely without a shred of embarrassment, admitted she had lost her virginity to her best friend aged fourteen! Naturally her gleeful revenge on Yang who had asked the question, had been to make her ‘ _shake her booty’_ in Weiss' face.

It didn't help that the rest of them seemed to be aiming for her when they span on their turns. Despite there being ten of them playing, it landed on her about a third of the time. Luckily not everyone playing was an uncultured brute. She’d been able to select truth from Blake, Ruby, Velvet, Jaune, and Ren without a worry. They’d asked her nice questions. Ones which didn't mortify her.

Still, she’d had to reveal far more of her inner thoughts and feelings than she would have felt comfortable doing any other night. And of course, any time either Yang or Coco picked her, she may as well have stripped off a piece of clothing without waiting for them to speak.

The bottle settling on her for the umpteenth time filled her with trepidation somewhat tempered by the fact it was Pyrrha who had spun. Although it wasn't as comforting as it might have been, Pyrrha had dissolved into giggles any time it had landed on Weiss. Still the rest of her questions to the others hadn't been obscene or unacceptable to polite society. She wouldn't ask anything too bad. Taking comfort in that Weiss selected.

"Truth."

"Weiss, who do you fancy?" Pyrrha lengthened the last word.

Weiss choked on her drink. Pyrrha had completely betrayed her. Too many around the circle broke into fresh, _knowing_ laughter at her reaction. She snuck a look at Ruby who was still thankfully nonplussed. There was no way she was going to answer that.

"Dare."

The fresh giggles told her she had made a tactical error by selecting her answers in this order.

"I want you to kiss whoever the bottle next lands on. Full on the lips."

 _That's it_. Weiss decided to kill her. Well try and kill her at least. She didn't particularly fancy her chances against the former champion one on one, but being repeatedly stabbed seemed the much more inviting option than what Pyrrha wanted her to do.

Still, some treacherous part of her mind lingered on the idea of the bottle coming to rest on Ruby. Her lips pursed, so inviting, so soft, so warm. She shook her head. No, it would be mortifying.

"Well Weiss if you don't want to do it, you can just strip off a bit more." Pyrrha smirked as she said it.

It was not an option. The repeated brutality shown by Yang and Coco had lost her all the items she was comfortable removing. She was down to her dress. It might have been worth considering even with Ruby and the other two boys in the room, if not for the fact the design of her extremely expensive dress didn't allow for a bra to be worn underneath, and she certainly wasn't going to remove her panties in front of everyone.

"Ruby could keep you warm if you're worried about being cold." Pyrrha kept the pressure up, earning an icy glare which sadly didn't flay the skin from her body.

Perhaps not understanding why ̶ ̶ Weiss was sure she had been sneaking sips of alcohol alongside her punch ̶ ̶ Ruby extended her arm opening the red cloak. Shutting down the thought of Ruby's arm wrapped around her naked shoulders in that cocoon of warmth, her chest pressed against Ruby's, Weiss considered her next course of action. Removing her dress was completely out of the question, as Pyrrha undoubtedly knew.

In fact, looking at a grinning Coco and Yang as well, she began to feel like the victim of an elaborate plan. Had they deliberately got to her this state just so unsuspectingly she would initially select truth from Pyrrha, who up to that point had been pleasant?

The thought of simply walking away never entered her mind as she plotted. The odds weren't too bad. She would prefer to kiss anyone except Ruby even Jaune. Actually having him melt under her attention might at least go some way to getting back at Pyrrha.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to push the odds in her favour a little more. On her turns she had managed to become fairly proficient at guiding where the bottle would land, allowing her some measure of revenge against her two main tormentors. _Yes, that could definitely work._

"Fine, but I get to spin the bottle." Weiss was ready to fight that point to the death.

"Ok, ready when you are."

Weiss hadn't expected her to concede so easily, but maybe Pyrrha had realised just how unfair she was being. Weiss took up the bottle, weighing it in her hand. It had to look good, at least three spins.

Starting with it pointing at herself, she spun it clockwise towards Ruby. All their eyes tracked it as it made two complete revolutions. Halfway through the third it was clearly losing momentum. It began its return towards her.

Breath held in her lungs, she began to dread that she had undercooked it in her worry and it would land on Ruby after all. Ever so slowly, it crept through the arc of the circle that pointed at her and onto Ruby's. She willed it onwards with every fibre of her being.

Her cheeks blew out as it went passed Ruby and onto Blake, before nearly coming to a stop on Yang. It was going to embarrassing sure, Yang would tease her about her technique for weeks, but it was infinitely better than Ruby.

But the bottle didn't come to rest. Moving improbably slowly it continued on its revolution past a smirking Coco, past a madly giggling Pyrrha, until it came back round to her. Weiss' mouth was open, but she couldn't close it.

It didn't make sense. There was no way it had enough inertia to overcome the inherent friction. It was crawling round, but somehow still moving, the laws of physics having collapsed. As it rotated past her, and came to settle unwaveringly on the one person she’d wanted so much to avoid. She didn't believe in fate, but at the impossible journey the bottle had taken she had to reassess. Maybe it was meant to be.

"Oh," Ruby gasped softly.

With apprehension Weiss turned to look at her partner. She wasn't sure whether that was a surprised, but anticipative _oh_ , or a surprised, but horrified one. The look on Ruby's face didn't give anything away apart from her shock. Surely she should be showing something by now.

Weiss' heart hammered in her chest. The wait for Ruby to do _something_ other than stare at the opening of the bottle pointed towards her was horrific. It was a culmination of everything she’d been forced to come to terms with in the last few days and… _nothing_. No reaction. No intake of breath. Not even a glance in her direction. _Nothing_.

The game which had led to this was no longer fun.

"I don't think I want to play anymore." Weiss’ voice was quiet.

It at least snapped Ruby out of her trance.

"No Weiss it's fine. I mean, I don't mind if you don't." Ruby blushed even as she blurted it out.

She didn't mind. What did that mean? Ruby didn't sound all that excited, not like it was something she always wanted to experience. No, she must just be pitying her. Heart breaking at the realisation that her feelings were not reciprocated, it was all Weiss could do to keep the corners of her eyes dry.

They would never be more, but at least they would still be friends. She wouldn't have to embarrass herself by confessing. Still there was this one chance to kiss her partner. One chance to make a memory she could cherish. It would just be a light peck, but it was still better than nothing. It would be painful. An indication of everything she would miss. She would probably spend weeks craving another but, when that desire faded, no one would ever be able to take away her memory. Even in the darkest, loneliest nights she would be able to hold onto it, savour it, remember it, treasure it.

"Ok." Weiss didn't trust herself enough to say more than that.

Ruby inhaled upon hearing her reply, suddenly seeming a lot less sure of herself. Silver with heavily dilated pupils locked with cerulean ones over the impassable expanse of a few inches of carpet. Such a short distance separated them and yet, neither of them made a move to bridge it. They just stared and stared, and unconsciously their chests began to rise and fall in sync.

For Weiss she wanted this single moment to be perfect. It wasn't something to be rushed, but she knew she would have to be the one to make the move. She was the one who wanted this, not Ruby. The carpet dragged at her bare knees as she shuffled closer, never breaking eye contact, and came to a stop when her skin met the light material of Ruby's tights. It wasn't perfect. She was side on to Ruby, but as the less experienced girl seemed too petrified to move, it would have to do.

Tentatively Weiss placed her palm on Ruby's cheek, relief filling her as Ruby didn't flinch from the contact, and she began lightly tracing her finger over her partner's jawline. Without losing sight of the silver portals Weiss inched closer, her heart beating ever faster. With only a monumental microcosm between them, Ruby closed her eyes.

From this close Weiss could see everything that was normally hidden about her partner. The loose eyelash caught in the others. The single strand of crimson tipped hair that had fallen free. And her lips, every mountain and crevice, no lipstick of course, but held ready for hers, pursed and full. Ever so inviting.

Weiss closed her own eyes and tilted her head. And finally worked up the courage to take the plunge.

She had kissed and been kissed before of course. It was never particularly unpleasant, but at the same time she had never seen what all the fuss was about. There was a tingle, a spark where lips touched, but nothing more. She’d come to the conclusion, like so many things kissing was simply an action romanticised by the media.

As their lips finally met, Weiss discovered something surprising. It turned out she was wrong. So wrong. Even hesitant as she was, with her lips barely brushing Ruby's, that slightest touch was enough to send electricity coursing down her spine and through her limbs. Neptune's lips had been soft sure, but Ruby's were velvet to his sandpaper. They were by far the softest things she had experienced. Warm and delicious. Fruity with a hint of chocolate. A succulent flavour Ruby would have to trademark.

Under the influence of the cascade of emotions storming through her, with her eyes closed, the world faded away. She forgot she was in a room full of people. She forgot she was an heiress to a multinational corporation. She forgot she was meant to be ashamed of who she was. All that existed were her lips and Ruby's.

Unbidden a quiet moan escaped her as her lips caught Ruby's lower one and suckled it softly, marvelling in its texture. Moving back she pulled on it and Ruby followed, relieving the tension. Weiss let go and pressed her lips back up against Ruby's more frantically as desire overtook her, mashing them together. The hand on Ruby's face had found its way to brunette locks and wove its way through them, providing the reactionary force to her incessant need to get as close to Ruby as possible.

Ruby trembled under her ministrations, her touch, and though she was by far not the one taking the lead, she wasn't a passive bystander either. Weiss raked her tongue across Ruby's lips, only to be met by a defender sallying forth. She almost melted as Ruby reciprocated the action she had experienced moments before.

Where she was needy and impatient, Ruby was timid, tentative, wanting to savour every second, ever so delicate. Weiss opened her mouth, only wanting the jolts of sensation the foreign tongue was eliciting to continue deeper inside of her. Her tongue rose to meet Ruby's as it began exploring her mouth, her teeth, her-

A piercing wolf whistle caused the pair of them to spring apart, Weiss toppled backwards into Nora's lap.

Zwei's yipping was the only sound in the room as Weiss came to the realisation of what she had just done. In a room full of people, people who had been watching her intently, she’d… she’d kissed Ruby. And what had meant to be a peck on the lips, had turned into… that. With Ruby's sister in the room. Weiss' cheeks were on fire as Nora helped her up.

And yet she knew those precious few sessions would be burned into her mind forever. It had been the most incredible sensation she’d ever experienced. It turned out kisses were in fact just as magical as everyone said, and Ruby had cast a spell on her.

Weiss would have been happy with just the memory. The ghostly sensations that would keep her warm on cold nights. She could have risen in the morning, swallowed down the longing, and greeted her partner as though nothing had changed. Even if she’d taken advantage of Ruby, as guilty as it would have made her feel, kissing her unmoving lips, it would have been enough.

But Ruby's lips hadn't been unmoving, uncaring. After an initial period of shock, or perhaps sensory overload, or nervousness, Ruby had responded in kind. She was the one that had gained entrance to the others mouth, tasting it, exploring it and then…

Which brought Weiss right back to the absolute mortification that she was currently feeling. Slowly she raised her head, in the periphery of her vision she saw Ruby with her face the same shade she knew hers must be. Her eyes tracked across the carpet, across the bottle that was still pointing at Ruby, up Coco's legs, her body, until she could look her in the eyes. A single look of her scarlet, screwed up face was enough for Coco to burst into raucous laughter, which in turn set everyone else off. Weiss could only grit her teeth and bear it.

The entire room knew her secret now. There was no way she would be able to play it off as a casual kiss between friends. The desire and longing she had approached it with had been far too obvious. She frantically tried to come up with a plan to undo the damage her stupidity had caused. She shouldn't have gone through with it. Any other night she wouldn't have, but today everything seemed to have come together in the steamy bowl of emotions that was her mind. And perhaps it had also cost her place at Beacon. Was it worth it? Could any memory, no matter how incredible, be worth that?

Looking round ̶ ̶ pointedly avoiding glancing at Ruby lest her feelings surge up once more ̶ ̶ she assessed where the danger might lie. The rest of her team were fine. They knew how important it was to her. They would never say anything. Ren was ok, Jaune probably was, and so was Pyrrha. Nora was a bit of a worry, she was a gossip, but at the same time she had kept quiet about Pyrrha's feelings towards Jaune for months.

Coco was concerning, she had certainly worked hard enough to push her to this position. Was it for personal gain or did she just like playing matchmaker?

That left Velvet, the Faunus, who now held the knowledge necessary to destroy a Schnee. Many would pounce on the chance. She would wake up tomorrow to the story in the papers and Winter breaking their door down. But Velvet… Velvet had always been kind. Perhaps a little intimidated by her name, but never hostile. Surely she wouldn't betray her.

Would it matter if she did? Weiss was sick of concealing what was inside of her, hiding who she was, who she liked. She’d confessed to Ruby. She’d confessed to Yang. And now an entire room had seen her kiss a girl and obviously enjoy it. Did they turn away in disgust as was always told they would?

No. Instead of harsh cries, there was laughter, not malicious but full of joy. They were making fun of her sure, but they were only revelling in her embarrassment at letting herself get carried away. Two of the people in the room had admitted to liking girls completely without worry or trepidation. As though it wasn't a dark secret that would destroy them.

By this time Coco had managed to recover at least some of her composure and holding her side she addressed Weiss. "Well, I think you managed to complete your dare."

"Yes." The choked reply set them all off again.

Weiss finally decided to look at Ruby. Her cheeks were completely red, but they shared a sheepish smile, before fresh heat in their faces forced them to look away again.

"Who wants to hit up a club? The night is still young." Yang had perhaps guessed that any game they play from now on would fail to compete with what just happened.

"Sure, I know a place where we won't have to wait. Everyone in?" Coco rose, steady despite the numerous drinks she’d downed.

With everyone else making their assent known, Weiss was forced to speak up.

"Uhh… I'm underage."

Yang responded with an evil smile. "Oh, I forgot. But don't worry, Ruby's underage as well. I guess you two will just have to stay here."

Panic filled Weiss. She and Ruby couldn't be in a room together. Tt was too embarrassing. They could barely look at each other as it was, how would they talk to each other? And what if they got carried away again?

She thrust a desperate arm out, pointing at Nora. "Nora… Nora's underage as well."

Yang laughed. "She's a little more well-endowed than you princess. She'll be fine." Yang squeezed her annoyingly large breasts together until they almost burst from her low cut top. The only response Weiss could come up with to the not so subtle insult was to splutter.

Only Coco and Velvet remained. "Now don't you two do anything too naughty while were gone. Well, not anything I wouldn't approve of." Velvet squeaked as Coco spanked her hard on the ass, cackling all the while. The door closed behind them.

The two of them stood on opposite sides of the room, looking at anything and everything other than each other. Weiss grabbed a half empty bottle of liqueur. She hadn't had any alcohol yet, but she would need some if she was ever going to speak to Ruby again.

"Uhh… bathroom.” Clutching the bottle, she took refuge.

Her back pressed up against the closed door as she slid down it. She was exhausted, and worried, and ridiculously aroused. The drink burned her throat as it flowed through her. A dull warmth spread through her brain.

Air flowed out of her lungs. She wanted this, perhaps more than she had ever wanted anything. But did Ruby? At some point she would have to face her, have to ask the question, receive the answer that would define their new relationship. Whatever that would be. Taking another swig she stood, slightly unsteadily, and opened the door.

Ruby was sitting on the lower bunk. A scroll on her lap. Steeling herself Weiss prepared to ask her.

"Movie?" Ruby's question was quiet.

Weiss' words caught in her mouth. Ruby had interrupted her, offered her a reprieve however temporary and, coward that she was, she took it.

* * *

 

"Let me guess, you planned the entire thing didn't you?" Blake said to Yang as they left their dormitory building.

"Maybe." Yang tried to be mysterious. It might have worked if Blake couldn't sense her pride in every syllable.

"And you spiked the punch. Despite it being the only thing they could drink."

She had only had a single cup, but it was enough to notice the subtle extra flavour. It hadn't been a lot, but Weiss and Ruby had been downing them all evening. As small as they both were, it would have added up.

"Maybe…"

Blake's reply was one of her best stares. One which eventually caused Yang to cave.

"Fine, yes I did, and it worked out better than I could have hoped. Did you see them? If we weren't there they probably would have started ripping each other's clothes off."

"Yang, that's your sister!"

"I know." Yang grinned. "But Weiss wouldn't take advantage of her, and as long as Ruby's happy I don't really mind what she does, and she certainly seemed happy."

That much was true. Blake had suspected that Weiss had feelings towards their leader for a while. She’d even suspected that the feelings may have been reciprocated. Ruby seemed to be just a little touchier with Weiss than she was with the rest of them. Weiss' reactions to the bottle landing on Ruby had been enough to confirm her suspicions, but it wasn't immediately obvious how Ruby would react to Weiss' kiss.

It had started off tentatively enough, but then Ruby's breath had quickened, sighs that would have been inaudible to the rest of the room apart from Velvet coming from her, and she had joined in with abandon. If Coco hadn't interrupted them who knew how far they would have gone? They’d entirely forgotten about the rest of them in the heat of their passion.

If they were from one of her books they would now declare their undying love for each other and live happily ever after. That probably wouldn't happen, but she hoped they would actually just talk about their feelings. Even though they shouldn't have being complete opposites, they just worked together.

The disorganised group were leaving the north gates of Beacon when Pyrrha and Jaune jogged up to them. The redhead looked remarkably steady on her feet considering, the state she had been in a few minutes earlier, but Blake guessed it down to a mix of her metabolism and Aura. Yang and Coco greeted her with high fives and laughs.

The terrible trio indeed. Of course Yang would be involved, and Coco was exuberant in everything she did. Still she’d been surprised by Pyrrha's participation. Perhaps, after months spent pining after Jaune but not wanting to confess, she’d decided to help others partake from the same font of happiness she was now drinking from.

"I didn't know that Weissy had it in her. Who'd have thought it? Little miss proper ravishing a poor young girl. Whatever would high society make of this scandal? I shudder to think." Coco spoke in an overly pompous accent.

"Come on Coco, you loved every second of it," Yang said.

Coco grinned. "Absolutely. Weiss is just too much fun to play with. I would never have expected a Schnee to act like that. But wow, are those two cute together or what? Who knows what they're doing at this very moment? Weiss was practically foaming at the mouth."

That was a thought that Blake didn't particularly want to entertain. She certainly didn't want to walk in on the pair of them, clothes strewn around the room, entwined naked in Weiss' bed. It wasn't that likely though. Neither of them seemed like the type to rush to that stage of their relationship.

"But Yang, why did you do it now?" Blake asked. Yang gave her a quizzical look. "You know how worried Weiss is about her sister. What if she finds out? Couldn't you have waited until after the tournament?"

"Blake don't you get it? Nothing Weiss does has any bearing on whether she gets to stay at Beacon. First she was worried that only being the top in the year wasn't enough. Then she had to win the tournament despite being a first year. Then when she won a match, she didn't win in a way that satisfied Winter.

"It doesn't actually matter what she does. Either they're just using the threat to pressure her into being the best she can be, or they really don't want her here, in which case they will try and remove her no matter what. In the meantime, she could either be miserable, or she could be happy. You know how much she changes around Ruby. If her family are bigoted enough to hate that, so be it. The one thing I know about life is you have to seize your chances today, live today, rather than worry about tomorrow."

Yang was of course right as she usually was. Weiss deserved to be happy, and so did Ruby.

By this time they’d reached downtown Vale and the streets were full of young people enjoying the night. As was always the case when groups and alcohol were involved some were trying to show off and looking for trouble. None of them approached them though. Even to an intoxicated eye they were unmistakably hunters. Any fight with them would be over quickly, and laughably one sided.

"It's just up here." Coco pointed towards a brightly lit corner of the city.

The building she indicated was one of the most exclusive clubs in Vale, and there was a red roped queue stretching around the corner. Blake didn't particularly feel like waiting for hours and was about to say something when Coco strode straight past the beginning of the line. A fist bump with the bouncers, a few words, perhaps a subtle transfer of some notes, and the bouncers waved them in.

The hairs on the back of Blake's neck rose. Most would have ignored the sensation, but her instincts had been honed by years of perpetual danger. Spinning around, she quickly scanned the rooftops searching for the scope of a sniper. Not finding anything, she looked over the people near her, but nothing.

Then, in the darkest recesses of an alley across the throngs of people in the street, dark even to someone of her heritage, the ghost of a silhouette hunched in the shadows topped by a crimson stain. She’d moved on before her brain had processed the image.

Hand snapping to what should have been the hilt of Gambol Shroud. Blake lamented leaving her weapon back at Beacon as she looked again finding only darkness. Had she imagined it? She knew she was jumpy. Too long spent on the run would do that to you. But would he really be here? In Vale? In the midst of an occupation by the Atlesian military? It didn't seem likely, but still.

"Come on Blake, you'll miss all the fun." Yang wasn't aware of what had come over her, and the blonde dragged her into the club.

* * *

 

It was an action movie. Normally Weiss would at least try and tolerate it for Ruby's sake, but tonight she couldn't focus on the inane dialogue in the slightest, concentrating instead on her internal script of what to say when the credits were rolling.

Something needed to be said. Usually Ruby would have snuggled into her despite what they both knew to be her superficial protests, but now a chasm existed between them. Zwei sensing the opportunity for rubs had settled in the gap. It was flimsy excuse, but it was there.

It was exactly what she had been worried about when talking to Yang. The kiss, though incredible, had changed their relationship. To what she didn't know yet but, as she’d made the first move, it was up to her to find out. So she worked on her script, editing, improving, until it was perfect.

Sadly, the final action sequenced kicked in before she had completed the opening monologue. Panicking, she downed another mouthful of liqueur and doubled over coughing as it went down the wrong way.

The pleasant burning of the alcohol turned in to the painful fire associated with asphyxiation. In her distress she could barely feel the hand pounding on her back or hear Ruby's or Zwei's worried inquiries.

Spraying her previously pristine duvet with spit and alcohol, she finally managed to suck down a gulp of precious air.

"Weiss, are you ok?" Ruby was alarmed, and Weiss responded without thinking.

"Yeah." It was then she realised that Ruby's palm was on her back.

She flinched away, almost toppling off the bed in her desire to put space between them, before realising it was stupid. They were teammates, partners. They would have to talk at some point.

"Ruby… we uhh… we need to talk, about what happened."

"Yeah," Ruby turned the scroll off, before crawling further down the bed and settling down on her knees looking at her.

Weiss took a deep breath, opened her mouth and realised the monologue she had spent so long preparing had vanished from her mind. Her jaw slammed shut.

Ruby didn't soothe her nerves. Unlike normal she was waiting patiently without fidgeting, and it really didn't help that all Weiss could think about was pushing her down onto the mattress. Tasting pale red lips once more. Running her hands over Ruby's tight litt-

_God… she was turning into Coco._

"Ruby, look I'm really, really not good at this. I have absolutely no idea what to say…" _Why was it so hard?_ "Look, I like you. I mean I really like you, like, like like you."

 _How on Remnant had she become so ineloquent? Like like, really?_ "I mean, I have romantic inclinations towards you, and would like to enquire if have any desire to engage in a relationship with me?" _That was much better._

The seconds trickled by as she looked for the slightest hint to the inner working of Ruby's mind. _Nothing_. Then delicious lips twitched. _Bad? Good?_ Silver eyes crinkled. _What?_ Ruby burst into laughter. _What?_ It was the last reaction she had suspected, happiness, outrage, yes but… laughter. After a minute Ruby finally managed to control herself.

"Weiss, what's wrong with _do you want to be my girlfriend?_ " She chuckled again. "That was the most ridiculous way of asking it that I've ever heard of. I mean really, did you just say that?"

"Look, it was difficult. And I didn't hear you saying anything." Affronted Weiss had completely forgotten her nervousness.

"You're the one with the romantic inclination towards me," Ruby imitated her partner's voice.

"It was the best I could come up with. I completely forgot what I was going to say. Wait… are you saying you don't?" The abrupt realisation hit her like an artic wave.

Ruby shuffled closer until their knees are touching, she took Weiss' cold hands in her warm ones.

"Weiss, didn't you feel me kiss you? I thought you were angry with me for getting carried away when it was just a game."

"You absolute, monumental dolt. Do you mean to tell me I've been sitting here getting worked up for the last two hours for no reason?"

"You didn't say anything either. You're as much to blame as I am."

Weiss thought about it for a moment. "Fine. I'll concede that point, but does this mean you're saying yes?"

Ruby began speaking formally. "Miss Weiss Schnee, I Ruby Rose do harbour a romantic inclination towards your person, and I do indeed have a desire in engaging in a romantic relationship."

It was happening, it was actually happening. Ruby liked her. It was just like she had imagined in her most positive moments. Well, not just like she had imagined. The mocking certainly hadn't been part of it. Nor the flames of embarrassment.

But they were dowsed under an ocean of happiness and, for the first time in months, she could look forward to the future with high hopes. Sure, there would be issues with her family, but she would deal with them when they arose. For now the only thing she cared about was the beautiful girl kneeling next to her, still mocking her with a smile. That was easy enough to deal with.

"Shut up, you dolt." She grabbed the front of Ruby's shirt and dragged her forward into a passionate kiss.

Ruby's lips were just as soft as they had been a few hours ago, just as delicious. They both skipped the initial stages and opened their mouths, wrestling furiously for dominance. Somehow, Ruby had gotten top of her, pressing her into the mattress, and Weiss finally got to run her hands over Ruby's ridiculously pert ass.

With Neptune so much had been fake. She’d been a passive passenger for so much of it. The research on how to kiss had been useful and she’d followed it to the letter. He’d never complained, so she guessed her technique must at least have been ok but, to her at least, it had never felt right.

With Ruby it felt right. Oh so right. They weren't following instructions, they were improvising, duelling, and every tentative touch sent jolts of sensation along her nerves. The biggest regret she had from the relationship with Neptune wasn't that she’d to fake her feelings for so long. No, it was that she had surrendered her first kiss to him. Something that was meant to be so special, sold for such a low price.

But entwined with Ruby, Weiss realised something important. The kiss with Ruby wasn't her first kiss, but it was the first that actually mattered. The first with someone who mattered.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The flagship White Rose has finally set sail, I said it would be slow burn but you probably didn't expect to take this long though. They are joined on their journey by the good ship Arkos, are there any submarines sailing with them which will surface in time, who knows, but what is certain is that they are destined for calm seas… or is that a storm on the horizon?
> 
>  
> 
> P.S. On a completely unrelated note the rating of the story will be changing from T to M starting from the next chapter.
> 
> P.P.S. If you feel like reading another story full of angst and want to experience some feels I heartily recommend Requiem For Remnant by Numbnut10, it's a fantastic read.


	10. Chapter 10

It was a good day. It was a great day. It was an absolutely mind-blowingly awesome day. And yesterday had been as well. For Ruby, just the sun shining down was normally enough for her outlook to reach the first two. The third though, that was special. That level of day was not usually attained unless there were very particular circumstances, and today those circumstances just happened to consist of a slender, cool hand entwined with her own.

The owner of that hand was of course one Weiss Schnee. Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, multi-millionaire, top of their year, classically trained vocalist, staggeringly beautiful, and her girlfriend. _Her girlfriend._

Weiss Schnee was her girlfriend.

In all honestly she still had absolutely no idea how that had happened. First off why would Weiss fall for someone like her? Weiss could have practically anyone she wanted. So why had she picked her dorky, team leader as the recipient for her affections? They were friends sure, but so often Weiss seemed exasperated to the edge of insanity in her company. And yet, Weiss had still stayed with her.

The second, and almost as surprising thing she’d discovered while sitting on the carpet in that circle, Weiss' palm against her cheek, soft warm lips brushing overs hers, was that she was a lesbian. Up till then she’d just assumed she was straight, statistics and all that.

Of course, she’d looked at celebrities, musicians, people she’d met, and she could see that they were attractive, both male and female. She could isolate the features she liked. Think about how they complimented the whole. But she’d never felt any need to get a closer look, a feel.

It was unusual ̶ ̶ she could admit that ̶ ̶ but it was just who she’d been and she had never had any reason to want to change it. Until now. There had probably been signs of her internal feelings towards her partner, signs she’d either subconsciously or consciously ignored. Bottled up knowing Weiss would never reciprocate them. Looking back she could recognise all the stray thoughts regarding her partner, the stares of longing, _the dreams._

The dreams should have been the part she noticed. Her mind had always been hyperactive in her sleep, but a night rarely went by without at least one dream. Nights were full of adventures, conquests, battles and more recently Weiss. _Really full of Weiss_. To the extent that almost every dream had included her partner in one role or another, one outfit or another.

Maybe she really should have recognised her infatuation with her partner before their kiss, but it wasn't like she had any experience to go on.

And the kiss. When that bottle had landed on her she had been nervous. Not because she knew Weiss was gay, that didn't bother her in the slightest. No, what had made her nervous was that she had never actually kissed anyone before. Not properly at least. Sure, when drunk Yang tended to become very affectionate and sometimes her aim was off, but lips never touched hers with any actual intent.

The looks from the people around the circle had told her that this time was going to be different. Not least whatever had gone through Weiss' mind in the short space of time, shock, horror, despair, before resolution.

Still unsure of what to do, it had been Weiss who’d been forced to take the. Movies and TV which should have prepared Ruby for that moment, just hadn't. Her lips had been dry, but she’d been hesitant to wet them in case that was the wrong thing to do.

The concept of a first kiss was terrifying to her, the only conciliation being that if she couldn't share it with her first love, then it was probably best to share it with her best friend. Weiss had approached her with such care, such tenderness, it was as if Weiss somehow knew just how nervous she was and was seeking to ease her worries.

As Weiss had moved ever closer, she’d shut her eyes ̶ ̶ that bit she did remember from TV ̶ ̶ so she’d been utterly unprepared when their lips met. Kissing was meant to be good, but nothing in the world could have prepared her for just how good. It was unthinkable that there were enough nerves in her lips to transport the intensity of signals to her brain without it overloading, or perhaps it had and that was what she had felt.

Whatever it was, it was the most incredible thing she’d experienced in her short life. When she had finally regained some control over her senses, Weiss had upped the ante by catching her lower lip between paler ones and pulling…

Of course that had caused her mind to be washed away under a new wave of bliss. It was only then that she realised she was ̶ ̶ very timidly admittedly ̶ ̶ kissing Weiss back. It turned out it was actually a lot easier than it looked, or at least that was what she had thought at the time. It all came so naturally. Such a complicated dance should have required practice, rehearsals, but with Weiss, it hadn't.

The embarrassment when she’d been pulled out of her trance had been immense and, much more than that, the reaction of Weiss when the others had decided to leave them by themselves had torn at her.

Still coming down off the incredibleness of her first kiss, to see Weiss not reacting the same way had made her think she had done something wrong. They'd just been playing a game. Had she got carried away? Violated Weiss when she forced entry into her mouth? Did Weiss hate her now?

But all the worry had been for nothing. Weiss actually liked her. Well, no she didn't. She had _romantic inclinations towards her_. It was such a ridiculous way to ask someone out that she couldn't help but burst out laughing. It was so far from the cultural norm, so strange, so posh, so… _Weiss_.

It was probably the best proposal she could ever think of receiving and, it was at that point, that she confirmed what she had suspected from the moment she’d finished her first kiss. That she was a lesbian, and she’d fallen for her partner.

If Ruby had thought that perhaps she wasn't the best kisser in the world as she pushed Weiss down onto the mattress, Weiss had been sure to give her very careful tuition in the hours that followed. Long, hot, sweaty, breathless hours. They had still been going at it with abandon when Yang had stumbled in ̶ ̶ singing loudly ̶ ̶ supported by a much less inebriated Blake.

Weiss had sprung apart from her, well tried to at least. The quilt had got rather tangled up in their limbs. It was lucky for both of them that they were still wearing most of their clothes and Blake merely gave them a knowing smile.

Yang had been the worse for wear and after attempting to climb to her bunk and failing, Blake had rolled her eyes before she pushed Yang into the lower bunk before climbing in after her. Ruby blessed her luck at that, with the other pair in a bed together Weiss hadn't felt her usual embarrassment and had pulled Ruby down for a goodnight kiss. They had slept in the same bed before sure, but it had been different this time.

Though Weiss hadn't said anything, Ruby still knew that her girlfriend was anxious about announcing their relationship in public. They still had to deal with an awful lot of things. She felt giddy at that thought; it was _they_ now more than ever. Winter was still around and she wouldn't approve of their relationship. No matter how happy it made her sister. Though it would have been incredible to reveal it to the world, she could hold off for her partner’s sake. All that really mattered was that they were together and in all honesty almost all the people she would have told already knew.

To her credit Weiss hadn't balked when Ruby's fingers had wrapped around her own, but she had a plan to alleviate her girlfriend's fears anyway. She didn't want to miss the feeling of Weiss' hand in hers, a hand she had never realised was so soft, a hand she loved to hold, a hand that had run over her body, grasping her…

Ruby coughed again. Certainly, she did find it slightly more difficult to concentrate, without falling back into wonderful memories but that would probably pass. Just at the moment she’d gone from not even being kissed before to having the most incredible girlfriend in the world in the space of forty eight hours.

She didn't want Weiss to worry. So as team RWBY walked down the busy Vale streets, she made sure to stay slightly in front of her partner. To most it probably looked like an impatient girl dragging her friend along, but they both knew the truth. Which brought her right back to how awesome the day was.

The weather was great, the sun bright, but the air blowing off the sea kept the temperature to well within manageable levels. All around her people were excited. The tournament was due to begin again after its brief hiatus and, though none of team RWBY were fighting today, they were all looking forward to a day observing the competition. And of course, if the two of them snuck away to a private room during one of the intervals that really wouldn't make the day any worse.

The streets were full with the mid-morning bustle and the festival atmosphere was in full swing. The lilting tunes of music mixed with the squeals and laughter of the group of children who’d been trailing them stealthily for the past few minutes. Every so often Yang would turn on them with a roar, terrifying them before laughter quickly followed, and the game would begin anew. Blake was watching her partner's antics with a smile, and it was just another reason for the day to be awsome, her team were all in exceptional moods.

Weiss' hand slipped from her own and the loss of the comforting sensation was painful. It hadn't been two days but it was as though their special bond as partners had grown exponentially. The children clumped together ̶ ̶ intimidated ̶ ̶ as Weiss knelt next to them, holding out her hands, smiling. They knew who she was of course. Practically everyone in Vale did. Her platinum hair was just too unusual for her to be mistaken as anyone other than her sister.

Gradually the less timid ones approached her, drawn by the warmth which would have been unimaginable when they had first met on the cliff. Weiss was good with children. She just had a way of speaking to them which had them blushing and grinning at her.

The flashes of cameras startled Ruby, but it was just something she was going to have to get used to for the sake of her relationship. Weiss lived in the spotlight. Indeed Weiss was used to it, putting on a smile, whilst subtly shifting those around her so they all faced the parents who wanted to document their children meeting some of their heroes.

Now people had seen they weren't going to get their head bitten off if they approached, all four of them were surrounded by fans wanting autographs or photographs. It was a lot of fun to be the centre of such adulation, and the day which had already started out the best it could possibly be, somehow got even better.

Crescent Rose deploying always earned gasps of surprise and amazement. Gasps that were well deserved in her opinion. All her teammate's weapons were good, but she could safely say hers was the best. It was the largest, the most deadly, the most complicated, and just the most awesome. Of course, they would disagree, shouting the merits of their own weapons, but she was the weapons expert. In this case they all just so, so wrong.

A final action pose as a team in the middle of the street, the flash of an army of cameras, ringing applause, and the crowd let them move on. They’d actually caused a bit of a roadblock as people surged towards the impromptu photo session, and Ruby blushed before leading her teammates to a café on the side of the road.

Weiss and Yang headed inside while she and Blake grabbed a table. It had initially been a worry about how her sister would react when she found out about their relationship. Yang had always fallen into the category of being an overprotective sister. It had very much been unchartered territory for the pair of them. Luckily her sister hadn't threatened Weiss, and had even given them her blessing. Even if she had looked like she was starting to regret it as she walked in on them as they sprang apart guiltily for the umpteenth time.

It was a pleasant way to pass the time until the matches started. Sitting in the sunshine, talking with her friends and _girlfriend_ ̶ ̶ she still couldn't get over that ̶ ̶ sipping hot chocolate from the mug in her hands. Weiss had decided to spoil her. She’d bought the least healthy drink on the menu, with marshmallows, cream and a literal ton of sugar. It was bliss.

Even the Atlesian military failed to put a downer on everyone's spirits. It looked like there could have been trouble when the two humans of one patrol ordered the ten Knights into position in the middle of the street. The crowd had all backed away, nervous of some unperceived threat, and then burst into laughter as the Knights slipped into a highly choreographed dance routine. A dance routine that put even JNPR's moves to shame. Rapturous applause heralded the end as the Knights all bowed, before reforming into position for their patrol.

"That was quite something." Yang was grinning as she said it.

"They're awesome. Did you know they can operate for forty percent longer than the previous model without needing a recharge, and that their armour is now a carbon reinforced steel matrix composite which is both lighter and stronger than before."

Ruby was excited. She loved any new technology in regards to weaponry, and the Atlesian military were at the forefront of the world in that regard. She continued to rattle off all the facts she’d learnt from her copious study of the press releases on the new models. Of course, she could have told them even more interesting things if Weiss had actually granted her request and given her access to the classified schematics that she knew the heiress must be able to retrieve.

The looks of boredom from the rest of her team passed by her completely unnoticed, but no one wanted to interrupt her.

"And they also have… actually I'll need to show you this one. Come on." Ruby grabbed Weiss hand and practically dragged her off her chair, leaving the others to trail behind her. Ruby cast round, looking for a patrol before spotting them at the end of the street. Towing Weiss behind her, she wove through the crowd, intent on her prey, and ignoring the heiress's demands that she slow down. Weiss wouldn't be saying that if she knew how cool it was.

The quarry she was tracking froze as one in the middle of the street, and Ruby finally heeded her partner's demands. That wasn't normal. They shouldn't have been stopped like that. They blocked the flow of the crowd through the intersection, and the two soldiers looked at their charges quizzically.

"What's going on?" Yang asked.

But this situation had caught Ruby entirely unprepared. Nothing she’d read gave any insight to what was happening as all the Knights’ heads sunk forwards onto their chests.

"Uhh… I don't know."

A ripple passed through the crowd as the Knights’ heads rose back up and they smoothly reformed into their prior formation. While one of the soldiers spoke into his radio, the other approached the lead Knight with a scroll. Lines of code and pictures rapidly ran over its surface before he shrugged, turned away and conferred with his partner.

"Nothing to worry about here folks." The other soldier addressed the people around him. "There was just a slight computer glitch at command, but it's all sorted now."

To prove his point, he signalled the Knights who all stepped off in unison. With his partner, he led the Knights away from the crowd.

"Well, that was weird," Yang said.

Ruby nodded, unable to shake a feeling of trepidation. But the Knights looked normal. Marching perfectly in step as they should, moving as one to unholster their rifles, raising those same rifles.

Shots rang out. The two soldiers flinched, each struck square in the back by five rounds. Another volley followed immediately after, then another. With armour cracked and glowing, the two soldiers fell to the floor, blood running from the cavernous exit wounds on their chests.

For a momentary heartbeat everyone was still. Everyone apart from Blake. More use to combat than anyone else, she pushed Yang forwards with a cry.

"Yang, flank left!"

The shout was the signal for pandemonium to break loose. Screams erupted from the crowd as they fled on mass. And as usual whenever people did anything on mass, normal social ties collapsed. People pushed, people struggled, people fell down, and no one stopped to help them up. Most in the city lived behind the shield of its defenders, never knowing true danger, never fearing for their lives. So when confronted with absolute terror for perhaps the first time, they ran.

Not that their instincts were wrong. After gunning down their superiors, the Knights turned their guns towards the crowd nearest them and fired. Indiscriminately.

Most civilians didn't have strong Auras, and the military grade rounds tore through their bodies. Ruby saw them fall. A man wearing a white shirt, a white shirt stained crimson as his lifeblood seeped into it. A woman in a dress, a dress with the sleeve ripped off, the arm accompanying it on its descent to the road. A child…

A second volley followed immediately after, the hardened tips of the bullets seeking flesh, but instead slamming into an impossibly hard surface not defined by physics. The rounds mushroomed on the white glyphs that had sprung into existence all around the Knights, providing a barrier, albeit however temporary, to the fleeing civilians.

More shots rang out, not the report of large calibre rifles but instead smaller handguns. Two members of the police had recovered from their shock and had opened fire with their side arms. It was a foolhardy move.

The few rounds that found their targets in their panic fire bounced off; the small calibre weapons unable to penetrate the composite armour. The defenders of Vale were more of a danger to their charges than the Knights. More than one civilian fell to the stray rounds ricocheting from the buildings.

Blake slipped through the wall of glyphs. The police officers had seen the folly of firing at the Knights with low calibre weapons, but they were given a stark reminder of the difference in the level of combat prowess between them, and even a huntress in training.

Blake emptied her clip, not in panic, but directly into her target. The rounds that would have bounced off the composite, instead ripped through the unarmoured joint of the shoulder, and the entire arm fell to the ground.

The loss of a limb would have been enough to remove a person from the fight, but a machine didn't have the biological limitations people had. The subroutines recognised that it had lost a limb, and simply resorted to the next most efficient combat method. A blade slipped out of the sheath hidden its remaining forearm.

Freshly armed, it swung towards where its computer said it would do the most damage. Unfortunately for it, Blake didn't follow the same programming, and instead of attacking from the front ̶ ̶ which the logic engine had predicted was the most probable course of action ̶ ̶ she used her Semblance to appear behind the Knight, Gambol Shroud slicing through its neck.

The Knight remained standing as its head tumbled to the floor. Once again the difference between organic fighters and synthetic ones was apparent. Upon finding their comrade had been taken out of action, the other Knights immediately opened fire upon the pair of them. Blake was forced to use her Semblance to dodge and close the distance. The Knight she had decapitated tumbled to the road, fluids leaking from the fresh ruptures.

In their midst, Blake had the advantage. The rifles had long barrels and were difficult to bring to bear on the shadow slipping between them. She didn't bother trying to strike the composite plates, , instead every attack focussed on their joints. Soon more limbs rained to the ground in a shower of lubrication.

The Knights dropped their rifles and engaged her blade to blade. Their literally computer fast reaction times and improved dexterity made them a marked improvement over their predecessors. Blake only just managed to dodge the multitude of sharp edges seeking to rend her flesh.

Yang struck them from the rear. Her fist slammed into the neck of the first Knight she encountered. A high tension cable that imitated ligaments snapped, before a point blank range slew of buckshot severed the remaining connectors.

Faced with this new threat the remaining Knights split into two groups ̶ ̶ their meshed combat control centre which allowed them to fight as a cohesive unit ̶ ̶ giving them new orders. Even as they reacted with unparalleled cohesion, turning in perfect unison, so did Blake and Yang. They didn't have a computer directing them. They didn't even communicate with each other.

But what they did have was an inherent understanding forged by countless hours spent fighting and just living together. When Blake used her Semblance to vanish from the path of an attack, she knew Yang would be there to take advantage of the opening the missed strike caused. In the same way that Yang just knew she wouldn't have to cover her back as Blake would have appeared behind any threat to her and neutralised it.

The Knights fought with cool logic, but that was little protection against an almost telepathic connection that didn't need to run all its decisions through a collective pseudo-consciousness. Yang and Blake just _knew_ the most effective way of downing their enemies. Within short order only a single Knight was left, its comrades left twitching and broken on the floor.

Bereft of its companions, it backed away, buying time to calculate the best way to deal with the two threats advancing on it, analysing everything it had seen. Blake was about to draw an attack, when the Knight's head quivered slightly. The droid's left knee twitched before it crumpled to the floor, revealing Weiss who had, with unerring skill, slipped her rapier into one of the small vulnerable gaps in its skull and pierced the processing unit that resided there.

The three of them lowered their weapons.

"Are any of you hurt?" Weiss had to shout to make herself heard over the city wide alarm that had just started up. Even though in the heat of battle it had seemed like longer, in reality less than thirty seconds had passed since the first shots.

Blake and Yang exchanged a glance before the blonde spoke. "No, we're fine, but what the fuck is going on!" She looked incredulously at the civilians streaming towards them. "Why the fuck are they running towards us?"

The alarm that was meant to be signal a Grimm attack was beating ferociously at the ears concealed by Blake's bow, but even through the cacophony she could pick screams and gunfire coming from the adjacent streets. A cold feeling swept through her stomach as she understood the implications of the sounds.

She pulled the other two closer to her so she wouldn't have to shout so loud. "I don't think it was just these. I think it's happening all over the city."

The three of them looked at the civilians fleeing towards them. Actually looked. They were terrified, all semblance of composure gone as they ran for their lives. Some limped or carried others coated with crimson. And many who tripped were simply forgotten, crushed underneath the throng. With as many people on the streets who were able to attend the Vytal Festival, the mass of bodies was almost as dangerous as the rogue Knights.

"We've got to help them." Ruby's quiet voice was barely audible.

The awesome day she had been having, had come crashing down around her. As she watched the Knights fire on the soldiers, the rest of her team had snapped into action. Not her though. She’d been frozen, helpless, immobile in the icy grip of dread.

She was meant to be a huntress. Someone who defended those who could not help themselves, and yet she had not. It had been Weiss' glyphs that had saved so many, Blake and Yang who had dealt with the threat. And what had she done? Nothing.

In the grips of the memories of _that day_ assailing her ̶ ̶ memories that had been forced down into the deepest vaults of her mind ̶ ̶ she’d been paralyzed. On that day she’d failed. She’d let people get hurt. The same as today. People had gotten hurt, but no more.

Oddly enough it had been the alarm that had shadowed her dreams, morphing them into nightmares that had snapped her out of it. Though the sound elicited terror in civilians, it had a different meaning to those who could fight. It was a call to arms, and she would answer it.

Weiss glanced at her partner before taking charge. It was something she tended to do subconsciously having been born to a position of responsibility where it was expected of her. Not that Ruby minded. Though she was technically the leader, she valued the help of all her teammates. More often than not Weiss came up with suggestions she wouldn't have considered.

"You two," Weiss indicated the two police officers who were staring apprehensively at the teenagers who had just taken down a military squad in a matter of seconds. Still, she was a Schnee and they responded to the authority in her voice. "Don't just stand there. Begin triage and get the wounded off the streets. What are you waiting for? Move!"

Blake had picked up one of the Knight's rifles, checking its mechanism and testing the trigger before throwing it to the floor in disgust. "Shit. They're fucking locked. They won't work without an interface to the Knights. You used to be able to commandeer the weapons of the old models."

They all picked up on what she was getting at. If they could take the guns they would at least be able to arm the majority of the police and some of the civilians. As it was, with their side arms the police were nothing more than inviting targets.

"Ok, it's up to use then." Weiss looked at all the civilians on the floor. The ones who were already dead, the ones who would die without immediate medical attention. The ones they must abandon. She steeled herself for the decision she knew they must make. "We've got to go. We're the only ones capable of taking them out. We can't leave any of the rogue Knights active."

An explosion shook the windows around them. The Atlesian military had brought far more than Knights with them to Vale. The dropships that had become so commonplace throughout the tournament were deploying their cargo. Knights soared downwards.

When they were clear of the Bullheads ̶ ̶ the back doors rent open from the inside ̶ ̶ the aircraft were lit up. Hundreds of rounds soared to meet them. A veritable storm of munitions that looked like a physical stream. Though the aircraft were rated against small arms fire ̶ ̶ they were designed to fly into combat zones and their armoured underbellies would have shrugged off any rifle bullet ̶ ̶ the situation they faced wasn't one they had been designed to cope with.

Where one round would have been ineffective, hundreds struck in quick succession, each straining the structural integrity of the aircraft. Every hit contributed just a bit more damage. A slightly larger dent. Just a bit more heat. Until the bonds in the armour broke down and the rounds were able penetrate. Normal soldiers wouldn't have been able to hit targets flying through the air that accurately, but with their targeting systems meshed together, the Knights weren't normal soldiers.

Even as a dropship returned fire with its Gatling guns its portside engine nacelle ignited. The Bullhead blossomed into a fireball as its fuel lines caught. It plummeted down, slamming into a district near the coast.

"Fuck! They're going after our air support. We've got to stop them!" Yang took off at a sprint towards the nearest column of fire searing upwards, not even bothering to check if the others were following.

It only took them a second before they all set off. Ruby knew her team was right ̶ ̶ as much as she wanted to ease the pain of the ones already hurt ̶ ̶ they had to take out the rest of the Knights, and that would be immensely more difficult without cover from the air.

The Knights were aware of the danger, and had for the moment foregone attempting to control the ground in their pursuit of the air. The group they charged towards were oblivious of their approach and Ruby accelerated towards them.

Her head told her to try and ignore all the bodies littering the streets, some crying out to them as they ran past, but she couldn't. Their suffering seeped into her. Without realising it she’d left her teammates behind.

Blake's weapon may have been unable to cut through the composite armour, but Crescent Rose could. With the tremendous momentum of her charge, the breastplate of the Knight shattered where her blade struck. Torn in two, the top half of its torso smashed into another. The impact stole most of her momentum, but as the barrel of her weapon came to rest on the head of another droid she pulled the trigger. The damage was pronounced. The entrance wound wasn't much bigger than bullet itself, but the back of its head split open.

Never one to waste a shot, she used the recoil to get Crescent Rose moving again and brought it around to sever the leg of the Knight that had been sneaking up behind her. The unit had begun reacting to her presence, but their carefully concocted plan to deal with her never came to fruition as the rest of her team hit them.

Weiss arrived heralded by a blaze of white glyphs under her, Myrtenaster lancing into the skull of one Knight, and another was embraced by the kiss of Dust-created ice.

Gambol Shroud's ribbon wrapped around three sets of legs before Blake pulled, sending them tumbling to the floor, allowing Yang to leap over their temporarily prostrate forms and hammer a three hit combo into the one behind them.

The Knights quickly fell to the combined assault, finding out that they were ill suited to dealing with huntresses. Even though this time they’d managed to strike Yang, she’d shrugged it off, before returning it with interest.

"Now where?" Ruby asked. Tracers lanced into the sky from all around them, and more Bullheads were plummeting to the ground. RWBY just weren't enough. They could fight all day, and would barely make a dent in the troops on the ground.

Sure, they weren't going to be the only huntresses in Vale, but most would be students. How many of them would be able to deal with the squads as easily as RWBY were able to? The tournament had only confirmed what Ruby had already suspected from their lessons, her team was exceptional. They had all beaten students in higher years to progress, when normally that scenario was the exception.

In the first year of Beacon only JNPR were comparable to them. Ruby had no doubt to their capability of taking down the Knights but who else? CRDL, with their poor teamwork they were unable to beat Pyrrha even four on one. Would they be able to take down a squad quickly? Not likely. Would any of the other first year teams? Probably not.

Sure the older students would put up more of a fight, CFVY would tear through the opposing ranks, but like RWBY they were considered prodigies in regards to combat. The majority of the fourth year teams would be able to handle themselves, so close to graduation they were almost professionals.

Two of the first year teams, a few more second years, the same of the third and most of the fourth year. With the police out of action, that was still less than a hundred combatants to counter what was happening and just how many students were actually in Vale right at this moment. It just wasn't enough to cover the entire city.

Luckily, in this sense it was happening at the same time as the Vytal tournament. There were students from all the different academies around the world who would be able to help. But still, Ruby was concerned.

Beacon was the best. It was just one of the things everyone knew. The entrance exams were the toughest and that led to almost every Vytal tournament being won a member of Beacon. That was the reason why people came from all over the world to attend. Weiss, Pyrrha, Coco, all could have attended any school they desired, but they’d picked Beacon. Ozpin desired to produce the best huntsmen and huntresses on Remnant, and that was what he did.

If the entirety of Beacon could only field less than one hundred effectives, how many could the rest of the academies put together? Though they’d only brought their strongest fighters to the tournament, they still weren't from Beacon. Could they handle numerous military robots?

All in all it added up to a force of a few hundred, having to protect the entire population of Vale against what had to be thousands of troops. It just wasn't enough. But they had to try.

"Come on." Ruby led her team off at a dash, even as more fire and shrapnel rained from the sky, another Bullhead exploding.

"Ruby stop!" Weiss shouted.

Immediately Ruby slid to a halt. She trusted her partner completely. If she’d cried out there was a good reason for it.

The reason became apparent as hulking mass of metal slammed into the street twenty feet in front of her, shattering the road and sending razor sharp chips of concrete flying through the air. The Paladin uncoiled itself, gunmetal grey and towering over them.

Panels on its shoulders opened and a stream of rockets sped towards the group of Knights, the Paladin following hot on their heels. By now most of the civilians had now worked out the last place they wanted to be was on the streets and apart from the wounded and the dead they were more or less deserted.

Still, as the ground shook from the charging steps, occasionally the sickly sound of a body crunching under tonnes of weight squelched through the air. The mechs weren't manoeuvrable at full speed, and respect could be paid to the dead when the living were no longer in danger. The steadfast mantra of soldiers all over the world.

"Fuck…" Yang swore again looking upwards.

The mighty Deliverance, the Atlesian flagship, had finally joined the fray. It slid through the sky overhead and from it, poured troops. Paladins were fired out of the deployment tubes on its underbelly. Soldiers ̶ ̶ bereft of the usual descent methods ̶ ̶ leapt from the hangars, pulling their parachutes almost immediately. Raining down like pieces of confetti, many were hit by fire, and they either drifted down limp in their harness, or with canopies rent, fell screaming to the hard ground.

As the enormous hangars on the Deliverance continued to empty, the Knights as one single entity shifted their aim from the few remaining Bullheads in the sky and towards the dreadnought. But where their previous method of an overwhelming quantity of fire had paid dividends against the dropships, it was futile against the Deliverance. The flagship had armoured plates almost a dozen inches thick, where the dropships were designed to survive small arms fire, the Deliverance was capable of surviving hits by anti-ship missiles with only minimal damage.

The rifle rounds struck the plates pitifully, leaving only scratches and after a few moments of ineffectiveness, the fire from the ground switched targets and concentrated on those parachuting in. Some of the smaller gun turrets on the Deliverance attempted to provide cover to those descending ̶ rounds raking their way through the amassed groups of Knights ̶ ̶ but there were just too many and the Knights themselves had no sense of self-preservation, still firing even as their formations were strafed.

The soldiers standing on the side of the hangars, waiting their turn, saw it all. They saw their comrades step off the edge and into that meat grinder. With their hands busy controlling their parachutes, attempting to get to the ground as quickly as possible, they couldn't even return fire. But fire found them. The blood of their comrades rained down on the roof tiles of Vale, flowing though the gutters like some perverse precipitation. Their bodies smashed on the ground, splitting open and painting the town scarlet. Men and women they had known for years were slaughtered as they descended entirely helpless. Slaughtered in defence of a country that wasn't their own. A country that would likely blame them for the tragedy.

No one would remember their comrades and, if the worst happened, no one would remember them. They saw all that as they stood on the precipice, with bowel loosening terror and savouring the breaths of suddenly crystal clear air that they realised might be their last in this life. They knew what would happen when the order was given and yet, when the time came. They jumped. For they were soldiers, and sacrifice is what they do.

RWBY were all in slack-jawed shock. It was too much to take in. They had all fought in numerous engagements, they were no strangers to combat, but this was different. Bullets flew beside missiles on a scale larger than anything they had ever seen before. Thousands of rounds hissed through the air, explosions as frequent as heartbeats echoed from across the city. Blood flew. People screamed. In pain. In terror.

Two entirely black aircraft tore overhead, millimetres over the rooftops, refuse and dust being sucked up into their wake. A body trailing fabric slammed into the road a dozen feet away. Crimson spurted through the gaps in its armour, spraying them with droplets. The taste of copper snapped Blake out of their collective stupor.

"Come on." Blake dragged her team towards the Paladin, only letting go when they got moving on their own. She had seen much more actual combat than the rest, but nothing even remotely close to this scale. The White Fang fought skirmishes, this was a war.

The Paladin itself was in trouble ̶ ̶ though a normal soldier piloting it could achieve a combat prowess normally only found in elite teams of hunters ̶ ̶ it was designed to fight Grimm and other mechs. It was ill suited to targeting individuals.

The initial barrage of rockets had cratered the ground and sent shrapnel tearing through the Knights, but where beings of flesh and blood would have been neutralised, the synthetics kept fighting on. Surrounding the Paladin they directed their shots into its vulnerable joints, and they were able to dodge most of the outpouring munitions.

Gambol Shroud took the nearest one's head from its shoulders, even as another crumpled. The report from Crescent Rose bounced from the walls. In this scenario the Paladin wasn't good for much more than a distraction, something the pilot seemed to have realised. Abandoning their futile attempts to shoot the Knights, and instead used its mass to bowl them to the floor.

The Paladin wasn't the optimum weapon to fight the Knights, but that wasn't why they had been deployed. As they had landed and engaged the rogue units, the droids had to turn their fire away from the air and to the new threats. The toll on the parachuting troops had been terrible. Many had been torn and rent. But many more had landed, and in coordinated groups they began securing their LZs.

The intensity of gunfire around the city, increased dramatically as hundreds of troops opened up on those who they had once thought to be their unwavering allies. The numbers of defenders had previously concerned Ruby, but in the space of a few minutes, the Deliverance had doubled or tripled her estimates. They might actually be able to do this.

Weiss made rapid hand gestures directed at the cockpit of the Paladin. Without being keyed into the encrypted military radio, she had to rely on a more low-tech method of communication. It got the message across. The mech using its articulating hand to signal ok.

"Let's move." Weiss ran off.

With their new found wrecking ball ̶ ̶ shaking the asphalt with every step ̶ ̶ behind them, they headed towards another intersection and yet another squad of Knights, more numerous than any they had faced before. In response to the deployment of the Atlesian forces the individual units of ten were coalescing into more threatening groups.

Bullets zipped between the Knights and the windows of the buildings where soldiers had taken refuge. Even in the short amount of time that they’d had to observe, it was clear the troops were sorely outmatched. The Knights could shoot faster and more accurately than their organic counterparts and, though the soldiers were making better use of the available cover, the concentrated return fire simply ripped through the walls and into the men and women beyond.

Ruby knew they needed to do something, and it seemed as though Weiss and the pilot had the same thought. Another barrage of rockets sailed over them, joined by a column of orange fire, searing the road underneath it. Neither did a whole lot of damage, but they drew the attention of Knights away from the beset troops and onto those who could handle it.

Without any communication team RWBY split apart. Seeing the gap, the pilot surged into a full sprint. RWBY fell in behind it, making use of its armoured bulk as a swarm of rounds flew towards them.

The crashing rending of the Paladin as it slammed into the front of the group, heralded mayhem. Ruby wasn't consciously aware of much in the scrum of bodies, just indefinable movement. Blades gouged the air above her head as she ducked, slammed into her back as she dodged another, clanged off Crescent Rose never letting her gain the momentum she needed for it to be effective.

This fight was much harder than their others had been. The Knights had immediately dropped their rifles and presented their blades. She’d read that they could intelligently evolve their programming in the midst of combat, at the time squealing with how awesome that was. Now she rued her naïve enthusiasm.

It was all she could do to keep them off her and Weiss' back. Even with her Semblance she was barely able to find time to strike back. The upgraded combat routines would have been difficult enough, but RWBY were outnumbered eight to one. It was almost impossible, but they were the best.

 _Just eight more._ _A_ round into a head, _seven._ _S_ way back from a blade, even as rapier pierced its skull. _Ok seven for Weiss._ _S_ ever the arm meant for her partner. Dodge again. A round to a knee. Duck. A rampart of cerulean ice erupted from the ground behind them, trapping four more Knights. _That's not fair!_ _N_ ot to be outdone, Ruby spun on the spot, scythng through the legs of two of the droids in one swing before bringing the point of her weapon down on another's skull. _Even again._

At some point another figure in vibrant colour ̶ ̶ a stark contrast to the white of the Knights ̶ ̶ had joined the fight. A whip wrapped around a synthetic neck, before sparks danced along its length, and the robot dropped as though it was a marionette with its strings cut.

With the assistance of the other hunter and the soldiers who’d sallied from the buildings, they made better headway. Knights fell rapidly, but not rapidly enough.

Their new found ally went down underneath a torrent of robots, stabbing and slashing, riding him to the floor. Knights swirled through the ranks of the soldiers, gouts of blood trailing in their wakes. Though the soldiers acted in groups, the Knights were more than a match for any three of them in hand to hand combat. The soldiers desperately tried to bring their rifles to bear as the white Knights turned crimson.

In the midst of the maelstrom of sounds and pain, Ruby fought harder than she had ever before. Every swing of her scythe cut through a curtain of petals before metal. Every hit she sustained just ensured she moved faster. Struck more accurately. Dismembered limbs began to pile up around her. A glyph underfoot sent her soaring into the air away from the Knight that had just pounced at her back. She used the respite as she glided through the air to send rounds into the skulls of three Knights before bringing Crescent Rose hammering down, splitting another in two. She’d long since lost her count, she just knew it was a lot more than the eight she had thought was necessary.

The cessation of combat came suddenly, Ruby spun around for another target and found. Nothing. The only ones standing ̶ ̶ doubled over her knees panting in Weiss' case ̶ ̶ were the rest of team RWBY, the Paladin, and half a dozen soldiers, most with wounds. Carpeting the floor around them were Knights, piled up on top of each other, many still twitching but neutralised. And alongside them were those who were hurt. Torn. Broken.

"You two ok?" Yang asked moving over to her sister. She no longer had to shout, the infernal alarm having been silenced at some point none of them remembered. Like all of them she looked the worse for wear, her clothing shredded by blades only stopped by her Aura, purplish bruises forming on her skin.

Weiss nodded, still panting before she rose and addressed the soldiers. "Get the wounded inside and hold this intersection. You can make use of the Paladin." The authority in her tone was absolute and if the veteran soldiers felt strange taking orders from a teenage girl they didn't show it. "And get into cont ̶ ̶ "

Glass shattered and the ground trembled underfoot as a shockwave rolled over them. Dust and smoke coalesced into a solid front as the particles were gathered up by the pressure wave.

"What the fu ̶ ̶ " Another boom cut off Yang's expletive.

Grit filled eyes turned skywards towards the Deliverance. The dreadnought had finally begun firing its ordnance towards the city. Even as they watched the huge main gun ̶ ̶ which had deployed from the hidden compartment on its underbelly ̶ ̶ fired again. The shell flashed from the barrel, splitting in the air, before hundreds of sub-munitions slammed into its targets. The ground shook in sympathy.

The rest of the gun emplacements had also opened up. Rockets, explosives, bullets, rained from the sky. Death falling as a solid sheet on the besieged city. The extent on the destruction released from the dreadnought was truly terrifying. It put a lie to hunters being the dominant combat force in the world. It was an incongruously beautiful scene, the flashes, the sun glistening off the shining metal, the smoke pulled into strings in the wakes of the shells. The explosions were no longer individually identifiable, but instead rolled into each other, building and growing into an unending roar.

"Crap…" only Weiss standing right next to Blake heard her.

To the uninitiated the overwhelming fire power spewing from the Deliverance may have been considered a good thing. Nothing in the world was capable of withstanding it. But that was the problem. There was a reason why whoever was in control of the dreadnought had up to this point refrained from issuing the order to open fire with its guns.

The Deliverance was designed to clear forests and combat massed enemies. Its munitions could carve great swathes through them. But it relied on its Bullheads and troops for precision targeting, not its own weapons. It was true nothing was capable of withstanding its fire, but neither was the city they were fighting in.

If the commander had decided to issue that order, it meant that they believed the undoubted collateral damage they would be doing to the city ̶ ̶ killing civilians and soldiers, the people they were meant to protect ̶ ̶ was necessary if they were going to save Vale.

RWBY had experienced first-hand that the Knights were stronger than the majority of the city's protectors, not to mention more numerous. They were designed solely for combat. That was the reason for their existence and they were extremely proficient at it. The overwhelming betrayal by the robots had taxed its true defenders to their limits.

Whoever had ordered the Deliverance to open fire, must have had an iron will, prepared to be derided as a murderer for the greater good. All of team RWBY had no doubt that the Deliverance would retake the city. The outpouring fire was just too much.

With no enemies near, they all started emergency first aid on the wounded civilians and soldiers in the street. At the moment, with the angel of death hovering overhead passing judgement, the safest place to be was in the open, next to the easily identifiable bulk and transponder of the Paladin.

The Deliverance would retake the city but, as the ground shook again, at what cost?

Weiss ̶ ̶ pale hands drenched with blood and desperately trying not to throw up as she held two flaps of skin together whilst Blake applied an battlefield adhesive to the stomach of the soldier they were knelt next to ̶ ̶ was blinded by a searing flash which illuminated everything around her, blotting out the sun with its intensity. A rippling series of explosions louder than any so far leapt through the air

In the sky the Deliverance was burning. The most powerful vessel in the world, the flagship of the Atlesian military, was on fire. The engines on its starboard spar were melted, twisted and slagged, hanging down limply. A sub-audible thrum rose to a fever pitch, vibrating the organs in their chests as the remaining engines flared in an attempt to keep the giant ship airborne.

Listing badly it drifted haphazardly over the city and, along with deadly munitions which had continued to fall despite the damage, molten metal and debris rained from it, setting buildings under its flightpath ablaze. Every eye not engaged in combat followed its path as it headed towards the flat land outside of Vale, the only place it could safely land.

An image burned itself onto the spectator's retinas. A solid green beam had crossed the distance between the ground and the Deliverance in a fraction of a second and torn into the portside engines. Where the composite armour had withstood rifle fire, it was no match for this attack. The beam burned into it, energy spilling out in luminous waves. The armour cycled through the spectrum from its original black, to red, to orange, to radiant white, and there it failed.

The lance of vibrant energy passed clean through its target, tearing a great chasm along the side of the ship and carrying on until it dissipated in the endless vaults of the sky. The afterimage was visible to everyone watching long after the beam had died away.

More explosions and a louder thrum hit everyone in the city as the remaining engines were redlined. Jets of flame spewed from them as Dust was poured into their exhausts in a desperate attempt to garner enough extra thrust to remain airborne.

But slowly, inexorably, the shadow of the ship grew larger. Crashes were meant to be sudden, meant to shock, but no one watching had any illusions as to what would happen when something that large lost the majority of its engines. It descended slowly, almost gracefully, pitching slightly and it appeared the commander of the vessel held no illusions about the eventuality of its fate.

They could have continued with their current method of descent. They would have landed almost softly. They could have ensured they would have survived the crash. But they would also have to crash inside Vale, on top of a residential district that would have been flattened.

And the same person who had undoubtedly ordered the deaths of hundreds of civilians, said no. The outpouring of fire on the city had been for the greater good. To crash into a residential district to save their own life was not. They would likely be vilified for their part in today's actions, but they were no coward. Nor were those serving under them.

The engines rotated on their mounts, throwing the Deliverance forwards. Chemicals and Dust mixed in special containers mounted on hardened points of the hull, exploding in a corona of colour, giving the dreadnought a last, one time addition of lift to clear the area.

Bereft of the emergency thrusters and with the majority of its engines directed away from lift, the Deliverance fell. Strangely it still didn't look all that fast. A ship that massive couldn't, but as it cleared the last buildings in the city, the speed of its descent only increased.

A terrible rending heralded its demise as its lower hull slammed into Vale's wall. Brick gave way to armour, crumbling, tearing, the masonry pulverized by the tremendous energies involved in the collision. Half the soldiers around them were thrown to the road as the ground rocked, shaking in its own violent protest to the crash. Explosions raced after the vibration, the few remaining windows shattering. As the dust excited by the crash began to disperse, it allowed RWBY to see the consequences of the impact.

The wall that had stood around Vale for decades, the city's silent protector against the insatiable hunger of the Grimm, had been breached. For dozens of feet either side of the hulk of the ship, the engineering marvel lay in ruins. Bricks and mortar piled on top of each other, spilling out in gentle slopes both into the city and into the deadly wasteland beyond it.

A solitary howl rent the air.

**A/N: And so it begins, we're now heading into the final arc of this book. Please review.**

 


	11. Chapter 11

The Deliverance had fallen. The wall had fallen. People had fallen.

Vale had fallen.

The treacherous thought crept into Weiss' mind. Being native to Atlas, she had seen first-hand the might of its armed forces. They were by far the most powerful in the world, and that had proven to be of great detriment to Vale. Whatever had happened to the Knights, they were more numerous and much more deadly than the vast majority of its defenders, and even the Deliverance had not managed to win out against them.

Even as Weiss stood staring at the carnage around her, she wondered if the thing was happening in her own country, if the Knights had turned upon them as well. Even if they had, it would be nowhere close to as bad as it was in Vale.

Vale was rather quaint in that the majority of the population was contained within a single walled city, with small orbiting settlements and a number of outlying islands. Some of which being free from the Grimm could be used for agricultural purposes to supplement that which was grown in the city.

Atlas was different. With a historic Feudal system, it had long since expanded away from its capital. Each House carving a section of territory for themselves, and holding it against the Grimm and their rivals.

This system meant that Atlas had more Grimm free land than the rest of the countries put together. Instead of building walls around their cities they’d built great barriers towards the north of their continent, penning the Grimm behind them. It was why the Knight program had initially been developed, the walls were constantly under attack and rather than continually throw lives away as had been done in the past, the defenders were now automated, easily replaced if lost and the only place they were deployed in any numbers.

But that would not do Vale any good at the moment. Without the Deliverance, without air support, without the support of the majority of the soldiers and other defenders who were simply no match for the Knights, Vale was in dire trouble.

RWBY had managed to cope so far, but they had already seen one other student go down even in the few streets they had covered. Normally Weiss' mind was full of thoughts and plans, but she had no way to react to this.

It was at this point she longed to be told what to do, how she could help, but her teammates looked as stunned as she felt, and the professional soldiers were no better. With the Deliverance down, the defenders of Vale had no plan. No one to direct them.

Simultaneously every scroll in the street ̶ ̶ regardless of whether they belonged to the living or the dead ̶ ̶ burst into life. The message on the screen was displayed in simple black and white, her custom user interface nowhere to be seen.

_As of 11:46 today, I, Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy have executed clauses I and IX of subsection III of the Vale Defence Act, hereby declaring martial law within the city of Vale and its surrounding territories and, as the ranking military officer present, giving me absolute authority within its borders._

_As of clause II of subsection IV every hunter, student, soldier, police officer, security contractor, and anyone else with combat experience are hereby conscripted into Vale's Defence Force and are now under my direct command. Anyone who fails to comply with the conscription, or any orders given to them, will be charged with treason in a time of war and will face summary execution._

_The city of Vale is no longer safe for the civilian populace. I am therefore ordering all those under my command to proceed to evacuate all civilians to Beacon Academy where a defensive perimeter has been established._

_To all civilians who are reading this message, remain inside until an escort arrives. Follow their commands absolutely, and if possible bring necessary supplies with you. If you require immediate medical attention, call the number on the third page of this document. If you do not require immediate medical attention, remain calm, remain quiet, and remember help is on the way._

_Ozpin_

_Commander in Chief of Vale and Headmaster of Beacon Academy_

Weiss’ concern mounted as she finished reading every monochromatic line. In one fell swoop their headmaster had effectively carried out a coup d'état and declared himself the military dictator of the entire country of Vale.

As far as she knew Ozpin had never served in any military, though actually any background checks on him returned almost nothing. He was an enigma.

Even ignoring his odd name, he’d simply appeared almost six decades ago and taken the vacant position of headmaster at Beacon, building it up from a two bit school to the premier facility for training huntsmen and huntresses in the world.

He certainly didn't look his age, most thought that was linked to his mysterious Semblance, and he’d never actually shown off any amount of combat prowess. No matter the conflict he always remained neutral. Despite this, the one thing everyone agreed upon was that he was deadly. To look into his eyes, truly look, was to be faced with your own mortality.

Often he was spoken of as the one without enemies. In a harsh, unforgiving world he was almost universally respected. Continued neutrality had always ensured that but today, after everything that had happened, he had broken that streak. At this moment within Vale, his word was law.

As concerned as Weiss was with the breakdown of democratic process, she could understand his reasoning. She’d desired a strong leader, and now they had one. Everyone in Vale now knew what they should be doing. Fortifying Beacon was the logical thing to do. With cliffs on three sides it was highly defensible.

The following page listed a chain of command for the newly created military force. Right at the top was Ozpin of course, next the high ranking military officers, then the rest of teachers at Beacon, following were hunters and other military officers. The next in line was a surprise; Ozpin had given his students ̶ ̶ in order of seniority ̶ ̶ authority over the students of other academies, regardless of year, the rank and file of the military forces in the city, and the rest of the conscripts.

Her friends had suddenly been put in command of hundreds of people, and maybe her as well. Technically, as was usually the case, as a Schnee she wasn't bound by most of the laws that governed society. The conscription laws in Atlas didn't apply to her, and the ones in Vale probably didn't either. Certainly Winter would not be taking orders from Ruby regardless of any potential punishment, and Ozpin probably wouldn't even try to enforce his conditions on her. Not if he had any sense, he would need the support of the SDC in the days to come.

Even if Weiss likely wasn't legally required to comply with Ozpin's orders, she would anyway. It was the best way to help everyone in Vale. By this time everyone had finished digesting the message and they all turned to their _commanding officer_ ̶ ̶ including the nearby soldiers ̶ ̶ despite their new CO being a fifteen year old girl.

Ruby noticed them all looking at her and began to articulate her thoughts. Though she looked shocked at the increased responsibility that had just been thrust upon her shoulders, she appeared, as she always did, to have risen to the occasion.

"Right, we need to start checking the nearby buildings for people. You can do that and when you have a large enough group head to Beacon," she indicated the soldiers. "We need to secure the immediate area, and then find more Knights. We're the only ones who can take them on."

Her teammates nodded to her plan and at Ruby's signal the soldiers who could walk, began searching the shops on the sides of the streets, the rest were left in the shade of an awning, grimacing with pain.

"Ok Yang, Blake you head that way, we'll go this way." Ruby's words were met with a wave of fire, which flash-dried the various fluids on Yang's body.

"I am not leaving you! Especially not in the middle of this. We are not splitting up. Do I make myself clear?" Yang was adamant.

Ruby shied slightly away from the anger in Yang's voice and replied quietly. "I don't want to split up either. But no one else can help. We're the only ones who can save all these people. I want to stay as a team, I really do. But then we'll only be able to help half as many people. The city is too big for us to stay together." Her point was illustrated by the repeated sounds of fighting that reached them.

"I don't want to lose you." Yang had gathered her sister in her arms and her voice cracked as she spoke.

Ruby hugged her back wholeheartedly. "I don't want to lose you either, but I'll never be able to live with myself if we don't help as many people as possible."

"Ruby… please." Yang begged her sister, holding on as tightly as possible.

Ruby began attempting to extract herself. "Yang, we've got to do this. You've got to understand that. We're huntresses, it's our jobs to help people." As they broke their embrace Ruby tried to cheer her sister up. "Anyway how many times have you said we're the best? We're all going to be fine." Her upbeat attitude did little to lift Yang's despondent features.

As Ruby moved to talk quietly to Blake, Yang's eyes rose and fixed directly on Weiss and she felt like she was staring at her impending doom as Yang marched up, grabbing her roughly on the forearm.

"Keep her safe. If there's any trouble you can't handle get her out of there, even if it means abandoning people. She'll never run by herself. I'm relying on you Weiss… please say you'll do that for me." Though her initial tone had been hard, it had broken by the end.

Weiss knew Yang was right. Ruby would never give up a cause, however lost it appeared. Not while a single breath still lingered in her lungs. Without hesitation she would face every single Knight in Vale if that was what she needed to do to save even a single person. It was admirable, honourable, and what made Ruby so special.

But it was also foolish. If the worst came to the worst and they were in an unwinnable situation, Weiss would fulfil Yang's wishes. Even if she had to render her partner unconscious and carry her, even if it made Ruby despise her ̶ ̶ as much as that thought sent spikes of terror ripping through her heart ̶ ̶ she would. For the world was far too dark, and the flame illuminating it from Ruby's candle was far too beautiful to be snuffed out in the pursuit of a hopeless cause.

"I will. I promise you. And you two look after yourselves as well." Weiss shared a look of mutual respect and admiration with her friend, and they found at least a little sliver of comfort in an embrace.

"Come on. We've spent far too long here." Ruby re-joined them as they broke apart. All the members of their team shared a look, that despite promises made, they all knew might be their last. Ruby took a deep breath. "Stay safe everyone… ok let's go."

Resolutely and without looking back she turned around and jogged towards the end of the street. Weiss joined her, though she didn't resist the temptation of one last glance. Yang looked pitiful, Blake only marginally better. A slender wave of the arm, then they were lost to her as she rounded a corner.

Four became two.

* * *

 

Pyrrha slammed Miló through the neck of yet another Knight, even as Akoúo̱ knocked a second to the floor. It fell mere inches away from Jaune's unknowing back.

The day had started so well. She’d woken at the time she normally did to a completely deserted room. That had been unusual to say the least. Most mornings they had to pry Nora out of her bed with a crowbar. But today it had been quiet, too quiet.

It had made her nervous. At Sanctum she had been on the receiving end of too many pranks to be entirely comfortable in the unknown. With her being completely untouchable to her classmates in combat, the students would look for other ways to get one up on her. Pranks had been the natural progression to that. They were never overly mean ̶ ̶ water on a door, a flour bomb, hiding her things ̶ ̶ bu,t though she would laugh them off politely, they still hurt.

Luckily at Beacon all her friends were more mature, and so far she hadn't been on the receiving end of anything that wasn't in good taste. The food fight being the most extreme example, and she supposed that had been mutual. Still, the deserted room had set alarm bells ringing in her mind, and it was with great trepidation that she rose from her bed, carefully checking where her bare feet landed.

The sheet of paper folded on her desk had caught her attention. On the front panel there had been a crudely drawn bouquet of flowers, and it had been at that point that she’d started smiling. Inside had been another poorly drawn picture of Beacon's main fountain, and the words _find me._

The game had been a lot of fun. At the fountain there had been another note with more badly drawn but endearing pictures. After she’d visited several locations around Beacon, who did she find sitting on a blanket on the edge of one of Beacon's cliffs overlooking the absolutely gorgeous view of the turquoise sea sparkling under the morning sunlight, with a breakfast buffet that was still warm? Her boyfriend of course.

It turned out that as useless as Jaune may very well have been at picking up the signals that someone liked him, at heart he was a ridiculously large romantic. The effort he’d gone through to allow her to eat warm croissants was crazy. It would have been understandable if it had been their anniversary, well she supposed it had technically been a week since their first kiss, but one week anniversaries weren't a thing. At least in her book, but not apparently in Jaune's.

In terms of combat prowess and academic achievements she may have been his superior, but when it came to romantic gestures she was lagging scarily behind. It was an area which she was unfamiliar with, and was going to have to ask for help from one of her friends, probably Weiss. She was the least likely to gossip about her ineptitude, and judging by both Neptune and now Ruby, she had a lot more experience that her in that particular department.

Of course, an incredibly romantic breakfast hadn't been enough for Jaune. He'd planned an entire morning of activities, which had led to them taking a leisurely hand in hand stroll through one of Vale's many parks. It was during the walk that _it_ happened.

Even though they hadn't been able to see anything though the foliage, she’d never had any doubt that something terrible had occurred. A lone gunshot would have been explainable, almost simultaneous volleys from every direction was not. At the screams that had followed, she’d raced from the park, Jaune hot on her heels. It was lucky that she almost subconsciously buckled her weapons on whenever getting dressed, and so apparently did Jaune.

The sight that had greeted her when she had burst from the gardens had been the worst she had ever seen, people scattering, screaming, and bodies. So many bodies. Without thinking about it she had thrown herself up against the ones who were obviously the culprits.

Three were in pieces on the ground before the rest reacted to her, and even then it was surprisingly easy to deal with them. With her Semblance active she could sense that large proportions of their bodies were metallic and composed of ferrous metals at that. Not that it really mattered.

Like most, specific information on the mechanics of her Semblance was more or less non-existent. That was the problem with Semblances they were all unique, sometimes siblings shared similar ones, twins more so, but most of the time you had to work it out yourself. Many long hours studying physics had ensued before she had a grasp of what she thought she did.

She’d told Ruby and Weiss that she had control over polarity though that wasn't the whole of it. Everything in the world had a magnetic field, most only on an atomic or molecular scale. With her eyes closed she was unable to sense those, but other materials—more specifically ferrous metals—did have magnetic fields.

It wasn't so much she could see the fields. It was more similar to the ghost of touch. Something you know is there but just out of reach. The magnetic fields just weren't strong enough for her to do anything with, so she _cheated._

Polarity was her domain, but magnetism was inexorably linked with electricity, and she was able to induce a current in anything with a high enough conductivity. Consequently it didn't matter if a metal was ferrous or not and, as long as it could conduct a current, it didn't even need to be a metal.

It had started off requiring her utmost concentration, but after months of practice the entire process barely took conscious thought. All she needed to do was to want something to move, and the object responded. She’d even learnt to control multiple items at once, though that was more of a mental juggling act than it putting more strain on her Aura.

In a normal fight it was a large advantage, against robots, it made her almost untouchable. Anytime they had selected the optimum attack to ensure a hit on her, they would get close before some undefinable force caused them to miss. It was easy to defeat them. For her.

It was not easy for Jaune. Despite the copious amounts of extra training he’d undergone, he just wasn't ready for this intensity of combat. There was a big difference between training, or even duelling in the tournament, to fighting when yours and other's lives depended upon it.

Pyrrha had to constantly keep an eye on her partner and, as much as she wanted him to hang back and let her deal with the squads, she knew he would never allow a friend to go into danger when he himself remained safe. So she watched, and when she saw him struggling she would intervene. A few shots from Miló, a hit from Akoúo̱ and, when he was particularly troubled, she’d even used her Semblance to bodily throw the Knights assailing him away.

That was something she normally tried to avoid. She may have been the master of electromagnetism, but she held no dominion over the other fundamental forces of the universe. If she used her Semblance to exert a force on something, an equal and opposite force would be exerted on her. Most of the time when subtly altering the paths of weapons it was easy enough to brace herself, trying to manipulate larger objects was more problematic.

If the object weighed roughly the same as she did, they would be forced to move in opposite directions at the same speed. If it was significantly heavier or attached to something that was, it would barely move, whereas she would be flung away from it. It was possible to cheat of course, she could use her Semblance to brace herself against another object, in which case the reactionary force would be transferred through her to that object and she would remain still.

Decapitating the final Knight Pyrrha looked around for more enemies. Finding only her partner relief flooded her as she saw Jaune was uninjured. Though she was sure the Knights had managed to land several hits, they still had to get through his extremely strong Aura. So far they’d been unable.

After the Deliverance had fallen and they’d been conscripted, they’d spent the next half an hour finding and escorting as well as neutralising any Knights that got in their way. They weren’t her only concern anymore. The lone howl almost everyone had heard in the aftermath of the Deliverance going down, had been joined by a myriad of others.

It was difficult enough fighting the robots. If they had to take on the Grimm as well, she was sure most of the overtaxed defenders would really struggle. In her pessimistic opinion, it was really only a matter of time before they felt confident enough to enter the city and their numbers would only increase. All the Grimm for miles around would be drawn to the terror of the civilians in the city.

The other worrying thing was they had not been able to get into contact with any of their friends. The cell towers were either destroyed or overloaded. Nora and Ren had been at Beacon when it kicked off, even if they would since have run into the city to help, and she had no idea where RWBY would be.

"Damn it." Jaune swore in frustration before hitting redial on his scroll.

The two of them were in a rather quaint kitchen, small but lovingly decorated with pastel blues blending together. So far this particular apartment complex appeared empty. It had either already been cleared by another group, or the people who had put so much work into improving their small home had never made it back.

The fridge was full thankfully and Pyrrha was stealing… looting, or she now supposed commandeering supplies. No matter what was happening outside, taking something that didn't belong to her felt wrong, but she didn't really have a choice. Jaune had ordered her to eat and, as much as she wanted to get back out there, she could see his point. They needed sustenance if they were going to continue to save as many people as they could.

With a bountiful harvest in hand she returned to Jaune who was looking out the sixth floor window while on his scroll. The city of Vale, one she had always loved since visiting as a child, was no longer a picturesque sight. The architecture of Vale had always been designed with artistic merit in mind, and it showed. The friezes, overhangs and awnings had always made it seem much more welcoming than for instance, one of Atlas' more utilitarian cities, and of course the normally excellent weather helped. This near the equator there was sun almost all year round.

In just a few hours the picturesque city had been reduced to a shadow of its former self. Smoke rose from dozens of fires dotted throughout the settlement, the thick black plumes coalescing in the air above. They were raging unchecked. Pyrrha shuddered to think of anyone trapped in a burning building, knowing that no help would be coming as the flames crept closer. That was no way to die.

From this high the extent of the cost to people's lives was even more apparent. There were bodies on every single road. Every single street. Every single intersection. Every single plaza. Littered, discarded, tossed aside, like refuse from an uncaring deity's pocket. It was a colossal tragedy.

Sprinting past the victims on the street while chasing the sounds of combat, it was easy enough to ignore them. They were just obstacles for where she was going to place her feet. Up here, in the apparent tranquillity of the comfortable home, it wasn't.

With an aerial view she could see the dispersion of the bodies. They weren't arranged in a uniform pattern. Instead most were grouped in clumps where they had been slaughtered. She still didn't know exactly what had happened when the Knights turned, but from this window it was obvious that they had drawn a crowd and then they had fired into it, heedless of who they were targeting.

The running battles that had taken place had provided a more even distribution of both organic and synthetic carcasses. The whites of Knights and the Atlesian military lay next to the more colourful bodies of hunters and the grey wreckages of Paladins.

And the worst thing was, despite the sheer cost that was visible to her, it still wasn't over. Gunfire still rattled the window. She could still see distant figures struggling, dying. They had to get down there.

"Ren?" Jaune sounded surprised that his call had actually connected.

"Are you two ok?" Relief flooded his face and he mouthed to Pyrrha that they were. "Where are you?" A pause. "Shit, we're on the other side of the city… Right we've been clearing buildings while heading north, if you head south, we should hopefully meet up, if we both aim for the main commercial district. I'll try and get in contact again, but if you haven't heard from me in four hours head back to Beacon," another pause. "Yep, you stay safe too, Pyrrha do you want to speak to th ̶ ̶ Fuck! It's gone again."

Jaune dropped his scroll onto the table before slamming his hands into the windowsill and butting his forehead against the cold glass.

"Jaune, at least they're safe. That's really good." Pyrrha placed a hand on his arm.

"I know. It's just I'm worried…" his head snapped, up his eyes on the horizon. "Wait, what are they doing?"

Pyrrha followed his gaze. He was looking at the wreckage of the Deliverance that was miraculously more or less intact from its crash, the same could not be said for Vale's wall which was in ruins. That was not what had caught Jaune's eye though. In front of the gap in the wall, hundreds of Knights were standing in ranks, weapons presented, not towards the breach, but pointing inwards towards the city. More Knights crawled up and down the piles of masonry, moving rubble, making it easier to traverse.

A black nose rose into view, followed by a scraggly, small Beowolf. Though one that size would not be intelligent, it could still equate a humanoid shape with danger. Even if its insatiable hunger would overcome any sense of self-preservation. It shied away from the Knight working five feet from it, feeling fear, but not sensing any of the usual sustenance in the figure.

The Knight, something designed specifically to fight the Grimm, didn't. It didn't show the slightest reaction to the Beowolf next to it. Not meeting death as it might have expected, the Beowolf poked its head back up and moved closer, sniffing the Knight. Disappointed at the absence of edible meat in the robot, it turned its red eyes on the city.

With the smaller Beowolf not meeting any resistance, a dozen larger ones prowled over the rubble. Older and more deadly, they were more wary of the Knights, but were drawn ever onwards by their hunger. The delicious fear and terror that was practically palpable in the city was too much for them to resist. They leapt towards the ranks of Knights, perhaps expecting to have to fight their way through them. Instead the Knight's formation split smoothly, forming paths for the Grimm. The largest alpha Beowolf gave a howl of triumph as they raced into the streets, prepared for the veritable buffet that had for so long been denied to them.

"Crap..." Pyrrha swore. It was something she normally tried so hard to avoid, but at this point of time she thought it appropriate. With the addition of the Grimm, the race to evacuate the surviving civilians to Beacon had just become even more urgent.

* * *

 

The constant skirmishes were exhausting. Even in Mountain Glenn they’d only ran into Grimm a couple of times an hour. Here there seemed to be Knights on every single street, and they were the only ones who could take them down. Every time they saw another unit, heard more gunshots from just behind a building, Weiss felt like sitting down, giving up. But she didn't. For she was a Schnee, and Schnees never surrender.

So she would race towards the fight, ignoring the lactic acid searing its way through her tired muscles in a desperate attempt to keep up with Ruby. So far she hadn't had to fulfil her promise to Yang. They’d only encountered smaller squads of Knights, numbers that they could handle.

The pair of them had fallen into a rhythm without the need for any conscious communication. Crescent Rose was just much better suited for this type of combat than Myrtenaster, the Knights only had a single vital point, their CPUs and it was difficult for her to thrust into it. Ruby didn't have that problem; her scythe could shear through their armour wherever she hit them, effectively taking them out of the fight.

So while Ruby did most of the heavy lifting in the combat, Weiss fell back onto her preferred role and provided support. With a time glyph under her Ruby could take out most of a squad in a blink of an eye, her Semblance and the Dust allowing her to move faster than anything Weiss had ever seen before. Using yellow Dust was extremely effective but she could see it took its toll on Ruby's body, the jarring sensation when the effects of the Dust ran out was never pleasant, and her partner had undergone it close to half a dozen times in the last few hours.

Not wanting to have to use it unless it was an emergency, Weiss had reverted to using her other forms of Dust. Whenever it looked like Ruby was in trouble, glyphs would spring into existence around her.

Ice was of course incredibly effectively at neutralising the Knights temporarily, but designed to operate in the frozen north of Weiss' homeland, it didn't actually damage them. Fire barely did anything in the slightest. Electricity was probably the most suited to taking them down, though they had some resistance to electrical attacks, there was a difference between shrugging off a custom Dust infused rifle round and being hit by a bolt of lightning. That attack could drop entire groups if they were close enough for the electricity to arc between them.

Despite their success at taking out the Knights, it was by no means smooth sailing. Both of them had taken a number of hits. When Ruby had been tackled to the floor by a Knight and hadn't immediately bounced back up, Weiss had almost lost her mind. Her memory was foggy. She couldn't remember exactly what had happened in the aftermath. All she knew was she had somehow taken out the seven Knights in a few heartbeats, there were several new craters in the street, the front of a building had collapsed, and she had ripped the remaining one off of Ruby—despite it weighing far more than she did.

The dolt had of course laughed when the robot pinning her to the floor had been lifted away, and she’d seen how distraught her partner was. _Weiss, you should have known I'd be ok. It would take more than a Knight to hurt me._

Weiss had barely heard any of that as she flung her arms around her girlfriend, burying her face in Ruby's strawberry scented hair as her heart pounded. The sheer terror she had felt when Ruby had fallen had been one of the most intense emotions of her life. Even as she had held her girlfriend her terror had not subsided.

It was at that moment she came to the realisation that if the unthinkable ever happened and she lost Ruby, it would tear her apart. The entirety of her life at Beacon, the life where she was a better person, was built solely around her partner, and it would all come crashing down.

Ruby had been ok, but it had taken Weiss some time to calm down. It was only then that she’d noticed the squad of soldiers they had picked up, most of them staring at her with open mouths, still trying to process whatever it was she had done. Under their scrutiny she’d blushed before ordering them to sweep the buildings to either side of the street.

That had been several groups of soldiers ago. Upon finding a number of civilians, the soldiers would escort them to Beacon, with Weiss and Ruby passing them off to another set of hunters closer to the academy. That way the group would have protection the entire journey and they could go back to searching for more survivors.

The pair of them had gravitated towards the commercial district near the sea. They’d found a number of people hiding in the shops or in the small apartments above them. It was quieter here. They hadn't seen any Knights in almost half an hour, and though the distant howls of the Grimm near the breach in the wall were worrying, they weren't a threat to them yet.

The greater threat was from fire. A number of Bullheads had gone down in this district and with the shops and cafés being filled with flammable goods, it was more susceptible than a purely residential district would be. They’d already managed to rescue a family trapped by the rising flames, Weiss expending the entirety of her blue Dust to create an icy corridor for Ruby to pull them to safety.

Ammunition and Dust was a major concern for both of them. Though they carried enough for even an overnight mission as standard, the number of engagements had drained their supplies. They’d both had to call their rocket propelled lockers to their positions, standing back as they smashed the asphalt where they landed, and they’d both completely emptied them.

The last few buildings they’d checked had been empty, the street itself was almost tranquil. The crashing of the waves on the sea wall, the crackling of fires and distant gunfire creating a strange ambience. Even though they hadn't had to fight for a significant amount of time, Weiss was still on edge, straining her senses for the slightest hint of danger.

A quiet pained ghost of a cry flitted against her ears. She could have sworn she’d imagined it, if not for Ruby's sideways glance meeting her own.

"Did you get a direction?" Weiss asked.

"I think it came from down here." Ruby led them into a narrower side street.

They moved silently, not wanting to jeopardise their chance of hearing the whine again. The sandstone coloured buildings overhung the road slightly, casting long shadows, and they had to walk around a number of café chairs that had been thrown into the street in panic.

Up ahead one of the shops had been struck by the wreckage of a Bullhead. The front wall had been torn away, exposing the aircraft buried in the middle of the store, and someone's apartment on the floor above. The aircraft hadn't burst into flames. It was more or less intact apart from the shattered engines and crushed cockpit. Neither bothered checking for any survivors.

They’d passed the wrecked building when they both heard the cry again, louder this time, high pitched and terrified. To Weiss' ear it had come from the ruined apartment above the shop.

Whoever it was, was in pain. Weiss didn't consider how dangerous it was to rush into a structurally unsound building. All she wanted to do was find whoever was hurt and comfort them. The ground was unsteady beneath her boots, bricks shifting with every step, but she clambered over the rubble until she found a staircase leading upwards.

With Ruby hot on her heels she scampered up it, coughing dust out of her lungs. At the top she encountered a locked door, and another cry encouraged her to ineffectively bang her fist on the unyielding wood. A strong hand pushed her to the side and Crescent Rose ̶ ̶ only partially deployed ̶ ̶ flashed past her, slicing a clean straight line through the barrier. Another flash and the door swung open, save a triangle where the lock had been.

Weiss was through the door even before Ruby had finished stowing her weapon. She took in the cosy apartment; a small kitchen; a living room with toys and stuffed animals neatly stowed in a container, and a number of textbooks haphazardly situated on the floor where they had fallen from their shelves.

A bedroom was empty, clothes strewn over the double bed as though they had been thrown upon it in a rush, a half filled suitcase likely providing the reason for the disorder. It was with trepidation that Weiss opened the next door in the apartment. The first thing she saw was vibrant pink walls. The second were the piles of rubble that had been fallen into the room when the roof had collapsed. The third was a slender pale hand extending from underneath the largest pile, a shard of white breaking through the skin. And the fourth was the black hair of a little girl, quivering with agony.

"Ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod." Weiss skidded to her knees beside the head, not cognisant of the splinters of brick that broke the skin on her legs before her Aura healed the lacerations.

The little girl's Aura couldn't heal her. Even a professional huntress' aura wouldn't have made much of a difference. Small, thin legs had given way to a wooden support beam from the roof. Thirsty capillaries eagerly drank blood, giving the wood a red hue. The damage extended past her thighs and onto her hips, the weight of the joist crushing one side of her pelvis.

Weiss barely saw all that. All she could see was a round, bloodless face, coated with dust, eyes screwed up with pain. Schnees weren't meant to empathise, they were better than that. They didn't let their emotions rule them.

But Weiss had never been a very good Schnee.

She’d always been able to empathise with those around her, even if she tried to hide it. And underneath a tide of symbiotic suffering, the dust on her cheeks was wetted by moisture.

Small pale lips were parched and as the girl cried out again, her voice cracked.

"Ruby, I need water. It's going to be ok. You're going to be ok." Weiss' arm was held out behind her and her voice was frantic, but when no canteen was placed in her outstretched hand she looked over her shoulder.

In the doorway, a lone boot inside the bedroom, stood her partner, frozen. The single step across the boundary was all it had taken to bring the girl into view, and it was all it had taken to bring Ruby to a halt. With horrified silver eyes and mouth slightly open, her gaze was glued to the black hair.

"Ruby!" Weiss' cry elicited no reaction from her partner.

If she had gone to her partner, she could perhaps have snapped her out of whatever was assailing her, but that would have meant abandoning her charge. Volatile Dust canisters were pushed aside without concern as Weiss' hand scrabbled for the familiar feeling of her canteen in her bag. Withdrawing it, she carefully poured the few remaining drops of precious water onto arid flesh.

"It's going to be ok. It's going to be ok."

If she said it enough times, it might make it true.

A thin piping wail elicited from overworked lungs as the beam shifted by less than a millimetre, dropping down into the space that should have been occupied by her body. Weiss was lost. No amount of first aid training could have prepared her for this. What good were recovery positions when the patient couldn't move?

Even the terrible things she’d witnessed in the past few hours paled beside this torment. The medical bag strapped to her waist was empty of any useful supplies. They’d all been spent helping others, healing others, saving others, and now Weiss could provide no remedy to the pain. The pain that was ripping through her body as well.

"Mummy…"

Weiss' heart tore, she knew who the owner of the pale hand was. She stroked the girl's brow, pushing the hair away from her still scrunched up eyes. It was the only thing she could think of.

"Mummy's going to be here soon."

_She wasn't._

"You're going to be fine."

_She wasn't._

"I'm going to make it all better."

_She wasn't._

Lies seldom supply solace, but in this instance they were infinitely better than the truth. The truth burned. Lies soothed. But only for the ones not doing the lying. Weiss cried. There wasn't much else she could do.

And then she began to sing.

 _When the days turn dark_  
_And we start to fall_  
_I will pick you up and_  
_We will fix it all_

Into the infinite abyss of suffering she sang. A siren's call to the one sailing the waves of agony. The voice smooth despite the distress of its owner. A tender reminder of goodness that flitted through hell.

 _Don't worry I've got you_  
_Nothing will ever harm you_  
_I'm close by I'll stay here_  
_Through all things I will be near_

Lies and more lies. The girl's forehead was clammy under her right hand, sweat pouring from the pores. Music did little to ease pain as so many had found out before Weiss. But still she sang. It was her ode, her tribute.

Weiss' voice broke and she choked out the last few lines.

 _Close your eyes_  
_Don't you cry_  
_Love's around you_  
_In time you'll fly_

Amber gasped, brown eyes flaring open.

And then she died.

Weiss stared at her friend, and eyes that had once been so full of joy, full of life, stared dully back. Accusing her.

Unsteadily, Weiss pulled on the hilt of Myrtenaster, reversing its journey through frail flesh and under thin ribs, back through cloth, and out into the air. She didn't want to see the blood, her friend's blood, but she did. It leaked from the wound, a steadily increasing blemish that turned vibrant pink cotton to listless scarlet. It clung to her weapon. A dark red stain on the once prized metal, and it flowed onto her, sinking into pale skin, grasping a hold of her soul. Myrtenaster clattered to the carpet, falling from limp fingers.

Weiss stared at the girl she had murdered, and she wept.

She wept for the bright light that had just gone out. She wept for the world that would never know just what it had lost. She wept for Lyra and asked for her forgiveness. She wept for herself. She wept for her soul that would never be pure again. But most of all, as violent shudders shook her body, she wept for Amber.

For the little girl who had treasured a necklace her mother had bought her. Who had been so impressed with an aloof huntress. Who had loved attending the Vytal festival, sampling all the different cultures from every corner of the world. Weiss cried for the girl whose homework lay completed on her table, a microcosm of normalcy in the ruins of her home. For the girl who would have given so much to society. Who had greeted the cruel world outside with unbridled happiness. Happiness that had now been extinguished.

Extinguished by the same cruel world. A world where happiness was unwanted, unneeded. The Grimm cared not for joy. The unthinking machines that had brought chaos to the city did not care about who they had robbed from the world.

Lives come and go, but hate is eternal.

And on the barren fields of anguish in the centre of Weiss' heart, a seed of hate was sown.

Weiss didn't know how long she’d knelt, bent over Amber's small body, hugging it to her, tears falling into black hair, but it had been long enough for the blood on her hand to dry. Gently she lowered Amber back to the carpet, settling her head down carefully.

With her clean hand, her pure, unsullied hand, she closed Amber's eyelids, concealing glassy eyes that still accused her. Slowly, she kissed her friend’s forehead. It was cold, unfeeling. A complete antithesis of the last time they had seen each other, and it was just so, so wrong. Still, she didn't remove her lips. She owed Amber the kiss her mother could no longer give her.

Weiss took a deep breath, a final look at her friend… her victim, and rose. Myrtenaster still bore the evidence of her crime, but she wouldn't soil anything in the room by cleaning it here.

Ruby was still where she had always been, just inside the room, shock and horror on her face. With her dominant hand, in the hour of her desperate need, Weiss reached out towards her teammate, her partner, her friend, her girlfriend, seeking comfort. When flesh met flesh, Ruby flinched.

It had almost been imperceptible, the tiniest movement, but she had, and the person who so needed comfort had seen it. Weiss saw Ruby flinch away from the person who had just murdered a child, away from the hand still stained with the blood of the pure.

Weiss' heart that had already been torn and ripped, shattered into a thousand pieces.

The words Yang had told her to sear into her brain rose from the halls of her memory. _No matter what you do, Ruby will never hate you._

How wrong Yang had been.

In the grip of her emotional agony Weiss' voice could have broken, it could have been quiet, it could have been pitiful, it could have been loud, accusing, but it was none of those things.

Instead it was cold.

"We need to go."

Weiss moved past Ruby, making sure not to soil her partner's perfect soul as well by brushing up against the red clothed girl. With wet cheeks and eyes that had no more tears to give, Weiss stepped out into the open air.

A cheap mass-produced piece of jewellery from Atlas clutched tightly in her hand.

 


	12. Chapter 12

Yang was angry.

The entire world had been seeped in blood. Molten metal pulsed in her veins. The searing heat tormenting her, promising wondrous release if she just embraced it. Stopped fighting it. Let it flow through her, into her. Into her fists that slammed into the fanged maw of a Beowolf. Into her crimson eyes that had seen so much she would never be able to forget.

Embracing her anger would have made things simpler. She wouldn't have to think about what was happening around her. The people who were suffering because she wasn't strong enough to save them. Think about all those she’d abandoned.

Think about Ruby walking away, into the middle of all this, without her big sister there to protect her. Even now she could be dead, or she could be dying, crying out in pain, and Yang was nowhere near. Completely unable to save her. They might never even be able to recover her body.

But Ruby had wanted to go. To be the hero from her bedtime stories. The bedtime stories Yang had read her. And she’d let her. Watched her sister disappear around the corner, perhaps for the last time.

It would have been so much easier to give in to her anger, to lose control, to scream with rage, to become the inferno. To throw herself at the Knights, at the Grimm without concern for her well-being. But doing that would have meant failing everyone around her.

Uncontrolled anger had no place in a warzone, and so Yang gritted her teeth in a desperate attempt not to lose mastery of her rage. To not surrender as she normally would. And she was fighting all the better because of it.

Knights fell before a carefully orchestrated plan rather than in the midst of a brawl. Yang engaged them from the front, before Blake ghosted into their rear, cutting and slicing before vanishing, providing the perfect distraction of Yang to get in close. Where she liked it.

As much as she was trying not to give into her anger, when composite armour cracked beneath her blows. When metal skulls were blown open by a spray of buckshot. It provided a welcome release to the pressure inside of her, just as it always had. That part of her hadn't changed. She would always revel in violence. All Yang had to do now was to make sure she was fighting for the right reasons.

This was certainly the right reason. Whatever the fuck was going on, someone had to oppose it, and that person was her. Every Knight she felled was one who wouldn't fire on a helpless civilian. Every Grimm she killed was one who wouldn't descend upon a fleeing family.

Fighting may have felt good, but it was nothing compared to the emotions that had risen inside of her when she and Blake opened a door and found a family cowering behind it. To see their expressions change from terror to relief and hope at the sight of the huntresses.

But they were only one pair in the capital city of Vale. They hadn't lost anyone, but others weren't so successful. Every time they entered a new street they found more corpses, some older, some fresh, interlaced with their defenders that had fallen in a desperate attempt to save them.

The constant drain of turning a corner and finding a new bloody monument to the hopelessness of their situation was taking its toll on everyone in the city, but it was hitting Blake especially hard. Normally to those who knew her well, Blake's eyes contained a subtle hint of a smile that was just waiting to break free. Now she wore a haunted visage.

Yang had never asked her partner for the details of what her previous life had been like. In truth it was more than she wanted to know. To her all that mattered was the here and now. Yang knew her partner was a good person, even if Blake didn't think she was.

Both of them had thrown themselves into their mission to save as many as possible, heedless of the cost. Both had sustained wounds. In both their bodies, overworked muscles cried out as they were forced to contract and expand to well past their limits, fibres tearing before being refreshed.

Yang knew that what she was asking of her body was unfair. That it would only be a time before it simply had no more to give, but she dared her body to give up. As she pummelled a four hit combo into the ribcage of a scrawny Beowolf and felt bones shatter beneath her fists, she knew with certainty that it wouldn't. Not yet.

It was too important that she keep fighting. While escorting a group of almost three dozen civilians they’d encountered another smaller group shepherded by two battle-scarred Paladins.

Together with the largest group they had recovered so far they’d made good progress on their journey. They’d been lucky enough that they had not encountered any Knights ̶ ̶ in fact their continued absence was starting to concern Yang ̶ ̶ but they’d been more than replaced by the Grimm that now rampaged through the city.

Initially they had only encountered the odd Ursa and this was where the two Paladins came into their own. The mechs were specifically designed to fight the larger creatures of Grimm and their high calibre weapons tore through black bodies, even as the reports caused the civilians to cover their ears in pain. With the Paladins providing long range cover the two huntresses hadn't even had to get dirty but, as Yang knew it would, just as they were nearing the residential district nearest to Beacon, their luck ran out.

Howls were met by screams as two score Beowolves came barrelling towards their group, the pack followed by the skittering form of a Deathstalker. It took only a second for the four protectors to know that they were in trouble, they had thrust their charges down the road, roared at them to run before they turned to confront the Grimm.

It was good fortune that the attack had happened just as they had finished crossing a plaza. In the middle of it they would have been overwhelmed instantly, but the street off it was narrow and, with the hulking presence of the Paladins, the four defenders had effectively formed a chokepoint to absorb the Grimm charge.

As the carcass of the Beowolf tumbled to floor before her, Yang couldn't help but remember the promise she had made Weiss swear, that if things looked hopeless she would get Ruby out of there, even if it meant abandoning people. This situation looked hopeless, but a single glance at the road behind her, at the group of slow moving civilians she would be sentencing to death, was all it took to know she was a hypocrite. But she was not a coward, and she surged forward into the reach of the Beowolf that had been stupid enough to choose her as its next meal.

Yang stood in the centre of the road, the two Paladins either side of her. The Beowolves themselves weren't really a problem. They were unable to penetrate the armour of the Paladins, and though packs could pull down even the most competent hunters, with her allies covering her flanks only one or two could approach her at the time.

The main problem was stopping them squirming through their lines and falling on the group fleeing for their lives. That was the reason that Blake stood a dozen feet behind Yang. She was the last line of defence.

The strategy was working, although the sheer numbers of their attackers kept forcing them to take a step back, just to find that extra bit of room to swing in the melee. The younger Beowolves had been the easy ones who had just rushed in. The older ones were smarter. They darted in and out, trying to disrupt their formation.

The Deathstalker flitted back and forth just beyond the pack, waiting for an opening. Whenever it made to move forward one of the Paladins would fire upon it, a barrage of rockets or a large calibre round that stressed its armoured plates, causing white ichor to trickle out from beneath them, but it was by no means out of the fight.

As futile as it had looked as they had first sighted the pack, the four of them had managed to hold, and any Beowolves rushing their line had to first clamber over the corpses of their pack mates. With no immediate threats, Yang risked a glance behind her. The civilians, though running as fast as they could, would still be outpaced to Beacon by a sprinting Beowolf.

That thought made her look for her partner. Fear shot through her, overriding even the raging torrent of her anger, as she failed to spot Blake. The road behind her was clear apart from the body of the odd Beowolf that had slipped through, and her partner's body definitely wasn't in sight. The panic fading as more logical thoughts gained precedence.

A hint of movement in the periphery of her vision caused her eyes to flick towards the side of the four storey building on the corner of the T-junction they were just about to cross. The ribbon of Blake's weapon trailed to the floor from where it had been lodged onto the roof and Blake ran up the side of the building as easily as most would have run along the ground.

Trusting Blake, Yang turned back to the fight. Already they’d been pushed back too far. If they retreated any further into the junction, the Grimm would be able to get around their line, and run down the civilians.

All three of them had come to that conclusion and stood resolutely but the weight of numbers proved too much. Yang could only find room to fight by taking a step backwards, then another. If she didn't, she would die.

The ground trembled beneath Yang's feet and thrusting back the Beowolf assailing her with a roundhouse, she glanced down the perpendicular road. A grin spread to her lips. Four more Paladins pounded towards her, sprinting to come to their aid. Feeling the vibrations of the approaching behemoths, the Beowolves had backed off, crowding round the Deathstalker, ears twitching. The entire pack looked ready to bolt and, making sure not to her eyes from them, Yang opened a large enough gap in their line to allow their reinforcements to charge the Grimm.

A body slammed into her. Yang hit the ground hard, a weight on top of her. Instinctively, even as she falling back, she’d twisted her hips, so upon contact with the road her assailant was thrown from her with an explosive grunt.

Lying on her back, Yang had a good view of a gunmetal foot sweeping through the air where she’d been a heartbeat before, and an even better view as it reversed its course and tried to stomp on her. The asphalt surface cracked as tonnes of weight came crashing down.

Not having a clue to what was happening, but certain that being on the ground surrounded by half a dozen mechs was a bad idea, Yang continued to roll, before using her momentum to spring to her feet. Ahead of her was carnage. The two battle-scarred Paladins were under attack by three of the unblemished ones. The punches being dished out by the mechs made hers seem like a child's. Worn and blackened armour was rent open beneath huge fists, the Paladins themselves being driven to the ground under a flurry of blows.

Yang ̶ ̶ as she had so many times today ̶ ̶ saw one of her comrades go down. The cockpit crumpled inwards even as the twenty tonne mech was thrown ten feet through the air, crashing through a wall. When the new Paladin had turned its shoulder in the motion of throwing, the reasoning to their attack was forced down her throat. Emblazoned on the armour was a blood red skull and claw mark symbol. One that almost everybody around the world would recognise instantly. The symbol of the White Fang.

"Yang, we've got to go!" Blake appeared at her side, frantic. She too had seen the markings.

The other mech was doing little better. It was still fighting, but it had to duck and weave, walking back up the street that they had retreated down. With all the Paladins bunched on one side of the street, the Beowolves that had been backing away from the mechanised brawl, gave howls of triumph and surged through the gap with bounding leaps.

Rather than pick a fight with the huntresses that had proven such stiff opposition so far, they instead gave them a wide berth and tore after the civilians. Yang managed to catch one with a fleeting blow that shattered its femur, even as Blake used her Semblance to appear just ahead of another and rip a wound down its side.

Still, at least a dozen made it past them. They set off to chase down their prey. Yang didn't even bother to check if Blake was beside her as she raced off in pursuit. She knew she would be.

The screech of the Deathstalker hounded them down the street. The last friendly Paladin had been forced into its range. Yang didn't even need to glance back to know what had happened. She was sure that somewhere she regretted the loss of their comrades, but at the moment the anger that had been burning so close to the surface all day, had been stoked by the realisation of who was behind everything that had happened.

The fucking White Fang. Not content with all the murders they had already committed when the train had struck Vale, they’d had caused all this. That it wasn't just a computer glitch, or some other horrible accident almost made her lose control. But instead she poured her molten rage into her tired muscles, fuelling them as she sprinted hot on the heels of the Beowolves.

The group of civilians were out of sight round a corner but, though they would catch up with them only seconds after the Beowolves, Yang knew what they would find. A sight that was far too common in the streets of Vale. Blood pounded in her ears, drowning out all other sounds as she pushed herself even harder, even though her body cried out it was at its limit.

Blake beside her glanced over her shoulder before increasing her speed, and motioned for Yang to do the same. The lone Paladin that been staring them down had taken their retreat as the signal to give chase. Paladins took a long time to get up to speed although when they did, they could really shift. It was barrelledtowards their backs. With the asphalt next to her feet splintering from a round, Yang found that what she’d thought was her limit, was in fact not, and somehow she managed to match Blake's pace.

If her sister and Weiss were there, and they hadn't spent almost an entire day running from one skirmish to another, a single Paladin would have been difficult but manageable threat. They’d proved that against Torchwick. But in their current state it was likely beyond them.

Once again she couldn't help but think of the promise she had forced Weiss to make. It had been selfish more than anything. Just get Ruby back to her no matter what tolls it would have taken on either of them. How many nightmares they had about the people they'd abandoned. As long as Ruby was safe it didn't matter. Now Yang saw the truth of the impossible situation that she’d put Weiss in. Her friend would be torn between her promise, and her duty to the people around her.

This situation was just as impossible. Though the Paladin was closing on them, they could dart into one of the side streets, leap over walls, run through well-tended gardens, and lose the mech. But that would mean abandoning the civilians in front of them to both the Grimm and the White Fang. It was just something that neither of them was prepared to do.

The road through the residential district curved sharply to the right, their sight hidden by thick neatly trimmed bushes. Rounding the corner Yang expected torn and scattered bodies, and that was exactly what she saw.

What she didn't expect was for those bodies to be covered in dark fur, or for them to be so close. The Grimm had been slaughtered almost immediately after rounding the corner, and Yang tripped over them. Stumbling forward with arms waving to try and keep upright, she had a brief glimpse of one in white whose mere presence drew the eye, surrounded by a number of black figures, many of who were down on one knee. One of the figures smoothly extended a cylinder before propping it on their shoulder, a gaping opening pointed towards her.

The figures were gesturing and shouting something. With blood pounding in her ears, Yang was entirely unable to make out a single word. Though their arm movements made it look like they wanted her to ̶ ̶

For the second time in minutes, Blake slammed into her. Running at a full sprint Yang wasn't able to cushion her fall, and stars sprang into life as her head rebounded from the unyielding surface of the road. Her clothes tore as she slid to a stop with Blake's body positioned protectively over hers. Something flashing overhead superimposed itself on the points of light in her vision, before a thermal bloom and a wave of overpressure pounding against her eardrums added delicious new ingredients to the cocktail of pain.

Blake got the worst of it. The Faunus quivered as her sensitive ears were subjected to the abrupt pressure change, even as her back was scorched. All Yang wanted to do was to hold her partner and make it all better, but despite her head injury she was cognisant that they were in a combat situation, and lying immobile on the floor was probably the worst thing she could do.

Gently she rolled Blake off of her, before attempting to sit up. A wave of dizziness hit her half way. A figure in tight fitting black tactical gear pushed her back down to the ground, before shouldering a glowing rifle.

Her attempts to rise foiled, she turned her head until she was able to see back down the way they had run. Almost exactly in the middle of the remains of the pack of Beowolves, the Paladin that had been chasing them lay on its side.

Its right leg had been blown away along with most of its bottom half, the cavernous hole still smoking. Miraculously the cockpit was still intact, though the Paladin itself was motionless either disabled, or the pilot was incapable of manning the controls.

With coordination that spoke of countless hours training together, the black-clad figures advanced on the wreckage. As well as being covered in numerous bandoliers and carrying other strange pieces of equipment, all the soldiers wore full faced helmets with reflective screens covering their features.

They were a stark contrast to all the Atlesian troops they had fought beside today. They wore white armour, better camouflage for their snowy homeland sure, but white was also a noble colour. They were meant to uphold traditions, and with their exposed mouths they were at least approachable.

These soldiers weren't. They wore the midnight colours of the Grimm, and with their full helmets they looked almost inhuman. Obviously, they weren't meant to come into contact with the civilian populace all that often, or maybe at all, judging by their complete lack of distinguishing marks.

As well as their appearance they were separated from their contemporaries by the weapons they carried. They all looked distinctly different. The soldier nearest the Paladin took the rifle from their shoulder and it smoothly transformed into a two handed axe. A single powerful blow was all it took to shear through the mechanism keeping the cockpit closed. As the covering fell with a crash to the ground, it revealed a Faunus hanging limp in her harness. She didn't look in the best of shape, with blood trickling out of both of her nostrils, contrasting starkly against her pale skin. She was younger than Yang would have thought, barely older than herself.

There were two quiet shots as the soldier with the glowing rifle put a pair of rounds into the girl's head, before tapping their partner on the shoulder. Their squad disappeared around the corner of the road.

In a way this was more shocking to Yang as any of the horrific deaths she had seen so far today. The Knights were machines. They did things as efficiently as possible, even if their objective was killing civilians. The ferocity of the Grimm attacks also made sense. It was just what they did, everyone knew that. They were hungry and people were food.

This was different. This was murder, cold and horrible and entirely without emotion. The soldier had not even spared their helpless victim a second glance. They’d taken the shots as casually as Yang might on a training target. It was stupid to be feeling remorse for the death of a terrorist, and yet she was glad she did. The respect to the sanctity of life was something she didn't want to lose.

These soldiers, _hunters,_ clearly had, but they were incredibly effective. In a matter of moments they’d dealt with a pack of Beowolves and a Paladin. All the while making sure that no civilians were caught in the crossfire. The ease at which they had accomplished something that would have at least taken the entirety of RWBY a significant time to achieve was scary.

With her head clearing, thanks once again to her Aura that had been so overworked today, she remembered the fleeting image of what she had seen before Blake had tackled her. The figure in white. So familiar, and yet not.

With a proper look there was no mistaking her, Winter Schnee. Though Winter looked different. For the first time that Yang had seen, Winter’s appearance was less than perfect. Her normally sparkling white attire was soiled with grime and crimson, strands of alabaster hair had fallen from the tight bun atop her head, and her hands were bloody.

Of course, even with those imperfections, she still belonged to a different race than the sorry figures she was tending to. Knelt of the road surface ̶ ̶ heedless of what it did to the expensive material of her skirt ̶ she was dressing the wound of a man sitting next to her with his face screwed up in pain, obviously trying not to cry out in front of her. Winter smiled at him, talking to take his mind off the process.

 _Wait, Winter was helping._ It was something that Yang would never have expected from their interactions. Without realising it she had come to despise Winter, and yet here Winter was, putting other's needs above her own safety. Not being the selfish bitch Yang had come to expect.

The exhausted civilians had collapsed to the ground in amongst a much larger group of at least several hundred people. More soldiers moved through them. These ones, though still in full body armour, carried identical weaponry ̶ ̶ of a design that was entirely foreign to Yang ̶ ̶ and provided first aid to the ones who needed it.

Erashan stood next to his charge. Winter's presence took care of the question of who the soldiers answered to. However, it was puzzling why the Schnees who were so proud of their emblem and always wore white, had soldiers dressed in midnight black, bereft of any markings?

Blake helped Yang up. All Blake’s clothes were singed from where she had selflessly covered Yang with her body, though surrounded by Schnee troops, thankfully her bow was intact. Blake had also come to the realisation of who was in charge here and the two of them ̶ ̶ perhaps reluctantly ̶ ̶ walked up to Winter.

Winter and Erashan both glanced round as they approached, although Winter finished applying the bandage and spoke soothingly to the man before rising. With the look Winter gave them, it took Yang a heartbeat to realise that she was standing in about the last place she wanted to be. Winter's expression mirrored the blizzards that forced the people of her homeland to shelter inside for days on end.

"Where's Weiss!" Winter advanced on them. She didn't really tower over Yang, but in her anger it seemed like she did.

Underneath her furious gaze, Yang lost all her ability to form coherent thoughts.

"Where is my sister!" Winter's question was accompanied by sharp crack and a blooming pain spread through Yang's cheek.

Blake pushed her way between them, looking to protect her partner from further assault. "We split up."

"You split up in the middle of a warzone! Are you idiots? Why do you think you're trained in groups of four? It's because you're stronger that way, and yet you split up. Morons!" She turned to her bodyguard. "Erashan, find her."

It was an order that was borne of desperation. Through the cracks in her icy persona, it was obvious to everyone she was frantic. When the bodyguard spoke, it was in a calm, logical voice. One that would best appeal to Winter's reason.

"Winter, we don't know where she is. There aren't enough functioning cell towers left in the city to triangulate her position. I could send a squad into the city, but their chances of stumbling across her are almost nil. With the White Fang, the Knights, and the Grimm I'm not prepared to sacrifice our troops chasing after a phantom. Unless you two know where she went?" Blake shook her head. "Winter, if you would just evacuate then I could try and find her."

Winter looked around at her troops, despondently trying to come up with a solution to her problem. Weighing up ordering them into Vale against the lives of the perhaps four hundred civilians they were protecting.

Yang had absorbed everything that had happened silently. The initial slap hurt, it had been thrown with the full weight of Winter's body behind it, but she had felt no need to hit Winter back as she would have loved to do a week ago. Instead, for the first time since they had met, she felt she shared something with the frosty Schnee.

In a quiet voice Yang addressed her, moving out from behind Blake. "It's ok to be scared Winter." Winter looked like she was about to rebut the statement before Yang spoke again. "Weiss is with my sister. I'm scared too, but I trust Ruby and Weiss. They're both fantastic huntresses. If we managed to cope, they will as well. All we can to do is have faith."

A shudder ran along the length of Winter's body and her perfect features twisted into a grimace. She took in a deep breath before speaking softly. "Erashan, get them up. Let's get them to Beacon."

While he moved off speaking into a concealed microphone, Yang stepped up beside Winter and placed a hand on her shoulder. It was perhaps too forward, but it was just the way that Yang normally comforted people. For a few heartbeats at least, Winter didn't shrug it off.

The civilians around them climbed lethargically to their feet under the instructions of the soldiers. More black clad troops began to appear from all around them. Two more arrived escorting a team of four students that Yang recognised as fourth years from Haven, five Atlesian troops, and around a score more dishevelled civilians.

Knowing that everyone would be looking at her, Winter on the surface at least had regained her composure. The de facto heir of the SDC stood tall. A beacon of serenity and strength in midst of these troubling times.

Sensing that the apathy the two had held for each other before today had perhaps drained away, Yang spoke to her. "Why are you still here? To be honest I would have though you would have run at the first opportunity you had."

Winter turned on her, the cold fires in her eyes reignited. "I am a Schnee. I was born into a position of wealth and power, and I have a responsibility and duty to those who were not. And nothing is going to make me forget it, especially not those vermin."

She gestured angrily to the corpse that was still hanging from its harness. "I did not run from the Knights or the Grimm, and I will not cower while those animals win. Yes, I could have been hours away by now, but I will not abandon Vale to the White Fang. Not while I can still fight them."

"I didn't know you could fight." The strength of character Winter was showing was surprising and, more than that, the selfless sense of character. It was so different from everything she’d seen from Winter up to this moment.

"I can defend myself certainly, but I do not fight with a sword. That is something Weiss never seemed to be able to grasp. You cannot change the world with a rapier, but you can with a pen. I can do far more directing the relief effort than I could while fighting myself."

Erashan had re-joined them while Winter was speaking and a number of black clad troops were moving through the civilians to reinforce the rear. "Do you two have any counts for the numbers of White Fang behind us? We've managed to spot at least a dozen Paladins on the borders of the industrial district."

Yang had been far too busy trying not to get squashed underfoot to pay much attention to her surroundings, but of course Blake had been the more observant of the duo.

"I saw at least twenty Paladins through the streets and more were coming out of the warehouses. That's as well as perhaps a hundred regular White Fang, and probably three times as many Knights. Though that was only in the small area I could see. Their true numbers are likely to be significantly higher."

Erashan spoke into his microphone again and more soldiers peeled from their flanks to guard their rear. "So, they’re responsible for everything then. Winter, this area is too dangerous. We need to move before they build up the courage to engage our rear-guard. I suggest you two come with us, you both look exhausted."

Yang nodded at that. The temporary lull where she had been safe under the protection of others had caused her adrenal glands which had been working overtime for the entire day to slow down their production. Without the masking effects of adrenaline, all her ignored strains and aches came crashing down. A rest sounded nice, but she was still a huntress. So as they all started walking, she led Blake to protect the flanks.

The narrow streets were too constricting for their large group so they ended up ̶ ̶ like most of the protectors ̶ ̶ moving through quiet adjacent streets, forming a wide cordon around the civilians in the centre. It was almost peaceful. There hadn't been any Knights deployed in the residential district, and there was a distinct lack of the bodies that they had gotten so used to seeing.

Walking with her back to downtown Vale, Yang could almost pretend like it was just a nice afternoon. That she was out for a walk with her friend. That nothing horrific had occurred today. It would have been pleasant, but the occasional howl or explosion put lie to her fantasies. Nothing would be able to change what had happened. She would take a quick break before heading back out.

In the middle of the deserted street, Blake pulled her to a stop, resolution on her face.

"Yang, I've got to go back."

"What?"

"I've got to go back to Vale."

"What, Why?"

"Yang I saw Adam," Blake's voice was strained. "He's the one who's running everything. He's the one who's caused all of this, caused all these deaths. I've got to sort this."

Despite the appearance of Blake's old partner, Yang wasn't going to allow Blake to shoulder the consequences of his actions as her own.

"Blake he did this, not you. You have nothing to sort!" Without realising it the volume of her voice had risen and her shout echoed around the deserted street. Yang clamped a hand over her mouth. The last thing she wanted to do was attract more Grimm, but she was determined to snap Blake out of whatever was foolish ideas she had.

"I was one of the only people he listened to. Most of the time, I was the only one who kept him in check. But then I just couldn't face it anymore, and within two years he has done all this. If I was by his side, I could have talked him out of it. I can still talk him out of it." Blake's voice broke at the end.

Yang grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "This isn't your fault. You can't possibly believe that. Let's say you go back and you don't get killed while trying to get close to him. What are you going to say to him? He's quite clearly insane."

"I don't know, but I've got to try something." Blake was hung up on the idea, just like how she’d been hung up on Torchwick.

"No you don't Blake."

"I do and I will." She pulled herself from Yang's grasp and turned away, looking back towards the smoke plumes rising up from the city. When she spoke her voice was firmer, harder and much, much colder. "I will try and talk to him, and if he won't listen to me, I'll be close enough to kill him."

"What?" This was a side of Blake that Yang had never seen before. All emotion had drained from her voice, and she spoke of ending his life tonelessly. It frightened Yang.

"I will kill him, and the power structure within the White Fang will fracture. He's in charge because they are all terrified of him. If he's dead all the lieutenants will vie for leadership. They will slaughter each other instead of us."

It was said so logically that Yang couldn't help but feel herself swept up in the argument, before she remembered who she was speaking with. This was her partner Blake. The quiet book worm with the intriguing smile, not a ruthless assassin. They’d both killed before that was true, but that was also in the heat of combat and, though she regretted it was necessary, it was entirely different to what Blake was proposing.

"Blake that's not you. You couldn't kill someone like that. Come on let's go. You don't need to do anything." Yang placed her hand on her friend's shoulder.

The next words were quiet, though they echoed in Yang's mind. "It is me though. I've never told you what I did before, well that's it. I stole things, I scouted targets, and I killed people. I was good at it."

Blake might have been expecting many things to happen when she confessed to one of her darkest secrets. She might have expected Yang to recoil from her. She might have expected retribution. But was she couldn't have expected was for Yang to gather her partner in her arms.

"That's not you anymore Blake. You're a different person now. A better person." Whilst Yang was shocked, she could only think about the Blake she knew. The kind, compassionate Blake. Not this killer from the past. "You've left all that behind." They’d all done things they weren't proud of and, even if Blake's were more serious, it didn't change the person she knew.

Blake hugged her back, nuzzling her face into golden locks. "I haven't though. I keep thinking I have, but it keeps catching up with me. Perhaps if I do this, I can finally atone at least partially for what I've done."

"Ok." Yang conceded she wouldn't be able to talk Blake around. "How are we going to do this?"

Blake pulled back and stared deep into her eyes. "Yang, we’re not going to do anything. I'm going to do it. Alone."

The fires in Yang's veins burst back into life. "I am not letting you do this by yourself!"

"Yang, you're exhausted. You're swaying on the spot. Your Aura is almost depleted, and you still have a handprint on your face from when Winter slapped you, even that managed to get through. You need rest before you do anything else. Please just go back to Beacon and wait for me." Blake looked at her imploringly.

"You've been fighting just as long as I have. If I'm too tired so are you."

"Yang, you've been protecting me all day. You've been the one in the thick of the fighting, taking most of the hits. I'm fine, plus I can move quieter and faster by myself. Please, I’ll never be able to live with myself if I don't at least attempt this."

"Ruby used those exact words too. You may never be able to live with yourself, but I'm the one who would have to live with losing you if you don't come back." Tears started in the corner of her eyes, but she was determined not to cry.

"I have to try this. I'm sorry. I'm being so selfish, but I have to do this. I owe it to everyone left alive in the city. Please go back to Beacon, it'll be easier knowing you're safe." Blake voice caught in her throat.

It was happening again, but just like before Yang knew she had lost. Blake's mind was made up. And what's more she knew Blake was right about her condition, even standing was difficult. Slowly, with wet eyes, she nodded.

"Thank you." Blake pressed her forehead against her partner's. "It should take a couple of hours at most. I'll see you again." The promise was hollow and they both knew it.

Blake turned on her heel, checked her weapons, and set off at a jog. And for the second time that day, Yang watched one of the two most important people in her life head towards danger without her there to protect them. Like last time Yang bowed her head in a silent plea, a single tear sliding down her cheek.

Two became one.

And Yang was alone.

* * *

 

Blake didn't look back.

She couldn't. Not when she could clearly picture exactly how Yang would look. Staring unseeingly down at the ground, trying not to cry. Earlier at least Yang had had someone by her side to comfort her, now there was no one.

If Blake looked back, it would have given her the excuse. The one she so desperately wanted. It would be so easy to turn back, run to Yang, promise she wouldn't leave her. The perfect excuse to give into her fear.

The fear that she could taste. That was palpable in the air around her. That reached inside and clawed at her stomach. Whatever brave face she had put on for her partner, she was not wearing it now. The idea of what she was going to do terrified her. Adam terrified her.

There had always been something different about the bull Faunus. Some indefinable quality that caused others to walk carefully in his presence even when he was a child. They might not have known why they gave the scrawny kid a wide berth, but Blake did.

Adam was dangerous.

When her parents had died, together they’d spiralled into the darkness. Together they found some form of comfort, and together they’d perverted her parents peaceful White Fang into the organisation it was now.

Adam taught her how to fight. How to use her Aura, her Semblance. In a few short months ̶ ̶ courtesy of his brutal training methods ̶ ̶ she’d reached a level that normally took years to achieve at a combat school, and she made use of it.

But she hadn’t fallen to the level Adam had. Where she might incapacitate, he would kill. Where she might show mercy, he wouldn't. Even the other members of the White Fang were not immune. If someone failed, Wilt would flash out and make them bleed or die. It didn't seem to matter to Adam.

In a cruel world full of monsters, the terrorists were terrified of their leader. Blake was the only member of the White Fang who felt safe around him. Blake was the centre of Adams' world, she knew he would never harm her. No matter what she did.

By remaining at his side she at least somewhat managed to rein him in. She alone could speak out against his more foolhardy plans. The ones where there would be excessive civilian casualties. The ones like he had carried out today.

Blake wasn't sure if she would have managed to persuade him to abort it. If the White Fang was truly behind what had happened today, the scale of the operation was orders of magnitude above anything they’d managed before. Even her counsel might not have been enough to turn him aside from it.

But she could still try.

So despite how terrified everyone was of him. How terrified she was of him, now that her _betrayal_ had presumably stripped whatever protection she had from him away, she jogged towards where she had seen him.

Leaving him had been one of the hardest things she’d ever done. Now she knew it had obviously been the right decision, but at the time she was running from everything she had known, from the last link to her family, and it had been hard. Oh so hard.

To try and forget what she had done. To try and forgive herself, even though she would never be able to. What she was doing today might help. If she could save an entire city, surely it might at least add the slightest spot of white to her blackened soul.

Since leaving the White Fang, for her, killing had always been the last resort. Even against her former comrades she’d tried to disarm or not cut too deep. Even when she had Torchwick on the ground, she’d held herself back. Killing an unarmed man just wasn't the person that she wanted to be anymore.

Torchwick was undoubtedly involved in everything that had happened. Killing him might have in some way prevented it. To save herself, her soul, she’d forsaken Vale. But no more. In the shadows of the alleyways on the outskirts of the industrial district, Blake's jaw set. With the smell of acrid smoke filling her nostrils, the truth the Adam had drilled into her came to the forefront of her mind.

For a greater good it was sometimes necessary to kill. Sometimes necessary to sully yourself so others wouldn't have to. However much she tried to hide, that was the person who she really was.

The air felt good on her ears as they were released from the confines of the bow that hid her from herself. Every sound was vital. With practiced ease, Gambol Shroud was thrown upwards, the ribbon looping around a chimney and she scaled the building. The high ground was always an advantage. Most would have found the angled tiles difficult to traverse, but her gait was smooth and silent. Blake set off in search of her prey.

The initial cordon of White Fang was easy enough to penetrate. Far too easy. The fresh troops jumped at every shadow, every howl. They failed to notice the crouched figure whose Shadow flashed over their heads. Blake knew she could have fallen on them and killed them all. Most would be down before they even understood what was happening, but they weren't even close to a threat.

Past the initial perimeter stealth became even more paramount. Even if the White Fang inside weren't as attentive to intruders, their sheer numbers meant Blake had to move more slowly. The White Fang had been recruiting heavily. There were hundreds of Faunus in Grimm masks, all armed, some waiting, others laughing; scores of military Paladins decorated with red skulls; and thousands of Knights, all standing immobile in perfect ranks.

Under Adam the White Fang had turned from a peaceful protest group, to a terrorist organisation, to an army. An army that would more than likely be a match for whatever forces had made it safely to Beacon. But Adam was the glue that held it all together.

While crouched on the corrugated metal warehouse roof, hidden in between ventilation stacks, her gaze ran over the assembled masses with practiced efficiency, attempting to discern the patterns in the crowd. With any organisation, there were lines of communication. Even in the age of wireless transmission, there were still physical runners. Runners who betrayed where their commanders were. They were easy to spot; they dashed through the otherwise passive ranks.

Blake checked her weapons again. The constant toil of a day spent fighting had taken its toll. Gambol Shroud was a mess, the blade chipped and scarred, the slide covered in blood and oil. Removing the magazine she worked the mechanism, cleaning it on her already ruined clothes. The clip itself was completely devoid of ammunition ̶ ̶ long since expended in the numerous battles ̶ ̶ and only a single round which she caught remained. The Dust cartridge Weiss had made for her wasn't in much of a better state.

Each of the individual compartments only had traces of multi-coloured Dust at the bottoms. Though she’d called her locker into the city and emptied it of its contents, she’d used almost all of the prepared fine Dust granules that it had contained. Loose in her pockets she carried Dust crystals, ones that hadn't been prepared properly, but they should still theoretically work, even if they wouldn't be as efficient.

The reason why she carefully ground down Dust from its natural crystals was all to do with surface area. As small particles the relative surface area was greatly increased, which meant that the inherent power it contained could be released more quickly. It was safer as well. If a crystal shattered, the potential energy released by its fracture could be enough to start a chain reaction which would consume the entire thing.

Still in the event that she would have to fight Adam, it was worth the risk. He had taught her almost everything she knew. Wilt had met the very first swing of Gambol Shroud, his eyes had watched as she tripped and stumbled after using her Semblance for the very first time. Every technique that felt so natural to her had come directly from him.

Adam knew her. Knew how she would fight. If they fought like they’d sparred, she would lose. The single slim advantage she had over him the ability to infuse her Shadows with Dust. An ability she hoped he wouldn't be expecting. It would have to be enough. Fingers which shook with the slightest hint of trepidation pushed the smallest crystals into their respective chambers.

The larger ones which wouldn't fit were thrust haphazardly back into her pocket. Despite the dire situation she found herself in, Blake smiled. If Weiss saw her treating Dust crystals this way, the heiress would flay her alive.

With that brief happy thought fresh in her mind, she inserted the now filled cartridge back into Gambol Shroud, chambered her single remaining round, and set off in pursuit of the messengers. Moving from rooftop to rooftop the quality of the White Fang troops changed. Where the ones on the outer edge were nervous and skinny, these were larger, more relaxed, and even though they still wore masks, Blake recognised some of them. They were her old comrades. Members of the White Fang elite.

An explosion from close by buffeted against her. From the streets all around came shouts of alarm. Lounging figures leapt up, drawing their weapons. More explosions followed, not gunfire, but an unsteady beat which was tantalisingly familiar.

With all the attention drawn to the sounds of battle, traversing the rooftops was easier. No one was looking at the sky. She was still deep within the White Fang held territory. There shouldn't be a fight here unless they were fighting amongst themselves, but that didn't make sense either. Adam wouldn't allow it. A pained cry rose over all the other requests for information.

The elite of the White Fang congregated around the mouth of a darkened alley. Blake dropped to her stomach before peeking over the edge of the rooftop down into it. It was filled with rubble. A hole had been blasted in one of the walls, but that wasn't what drew her eye. At the end of alley, shrouded in shadows that would have been almost impenetrable to a human, was a shock of brown and red hair. Beyond Adam, backed against a dead end, with flaming mace held outwards, was Cardin.

Creeping closer to the standoff her ears picked up their words.

"Stay back I'm warning you." It was a display of bravado ruined by how Cardin's voice shook.

The leader of CRDL was in a sorry state, his left hand hung limp to his side, blood trickling though the gap in his armour from a puncture wound in his shoulder. His weapon was unsteady in his weaker hand, and that side of his body was drenched in scarlet.

"I don't think so." Adam's voice was almost entirely as she remembered. It danced with the hint of a threat. "What's that you were carrying?" His boot drove into a shape on the ground.

"Don't touch him!" Cardin leapt forward swinging wildly, advancing until he stood over the immobile form of Sky Lark. The source of the blood on his shoulder became apparent; he hadn’t wanted to abandon his teammate's body to the Grimm.

"So brave, but I can taste your fear." In the darkened alley, his words were sibilant.

"I'm not scared of you animals." The insult gave Cardin the strength to stand straighter despite his futile position.

Adam's mouth twitched. Cardin didn't know what he had done. A childhood of being tormented by that word had given it a special meaning to him.

"Animals? Do you know what animals do when they are backed into a corner?" Adam hissed.

Cardin was just about to retort when Wilt flashed from its sheath. It was a red blur in the air before it sheared through flesh and bone, and in a smooth practiced motion, its journey was reversed until it was sheathed. It had happened so quickly Blake almost missed it.

So did Cardin, his mace had clattered to the floor, hand still around the hilt before a pained scream rent the air. Blood spurted from the severed wrist as he staggered back.

Adam followed him. "Animals!" Wilt rose again from its sheath, cutting an indiscernible pattern into the air before returning to its home. Cardin's breastplate clattered to the floor, it proving small protection against the ferociously sharp blade. Blood seeped from a number of shallow cuts on Cardin's chest, soling his brown shirt.

Cardin had stopped screaming, and now mewled unintelligibly, a pitiful sound that scratched at Blake's ears. With one arm immobile courtesy of a puncture wound and the other still trickling blood, he was helpless. Adam stalked closer, mouth still twitching.

It was one of things that ensured no one dared challenge his leadership. In hushed whispers others spoke of acts of barbarity that shocked even hardened terrorists. The boy who had once tortured animals, had found a new outlet for his pain.

Before today Blake wasn't sure how much they were exaggerated, her presence had normally been enough to hold him to a better moral code. The one time she has seen him lose control like this, a hand on his arm and quiet words had been enough to calm him. But that was in another time, when she hadn't betrayed him.

Still despite it being Cardin ̶ ̶ a bigoted racist who she despised ̶ ̶ Blake knew she couldn't just watch. Watch her old _everything_ sate his sadistic desires. Despite how unlikely she would ever be to leave the alley if she revealed herself.

The words that Professor Ozpin had spoken to her in their debriefing came back to her. _As a huntress your first task is to defend the people who cannot defend themselves._ At the moment, whatever she thought of him, Cardin was unable to defend himself, and Sky had died defending others.

To decide who to defend based on her own personal feelings of them was wrong. It would mean she didn't care to do what was right, only what was convenient for herself. That was selfishness of the highest order. It wasn't who she wanted to be. Or who the world deserved her to be.

With that thought in her heart, Blake took a deep breath and dropped down into the alley.

 


	13. Chapter 13

Blake's dropped between Adam and his prey.

"Adam stop!"

Adam stumbled backwards, right arm reaching out blindly for something to support himself on. In an almost inaudible voice he breathed her name. "Blake…"

The mask he always insisted on wearing, even in amongst other White Fang members, concealed most of his face. Not that it mattered. You don't ever really forget the person you thought was your first love. To Blake the mask may as well have been transparent.

It had always been obvious to her that she hadn't severed ties with her old life as completely as she would have liked. It seemed that no matter how far she tried to run, it was never far enough. Still, she’d believed that she’d at least managed to break away emotionally.

Confronting Adam, seeing Adam again, from this close, put lie to that belief. It had hurt to leave him, to abandon him, but it had hurt more to know that he’d pushed her to it. That the ideal that had seized her heart had been false, a fabrication that had scarred her.

But even a scarred heart can feel and, despite everything, Blake still felt. Felt hurt, felt passion, felt danger, felt safe, felt rage, felt… _love_? Perhaps that wasn't the all-encompassing feeling that made her stomach flutter despite the situation, or maybe it was.

Did it matter? Would it change what she had come here to do? Could she allow it? Blake knew the answer to that.

Whatever feelings that might be flaring inside of her, those had been developed towards Adam the quiet boy she had grown up with, not Adam the ruthless leader of the White Fang. The Adam who’d orchestrated the deaths of who knew how many thousands.

For them and for all those who still lived, she would slide Gambol Shroud into his chest and watch as the life faded from his hazel eyes, even as his lieutenants and her old comrades slaughtered her. And she would apologise to Yang in the afterlife, if that one selfless act had done enough to earn her redemption.

"Blake," Adam repeated her name for the second time, supporting himself against the wall.

The sociopathic leader of the White Fang was even paler than usual, cheeks devoid of blood. If Blake had managed to come to terms with seeing her old flame again, Adam most certainly hadn't.

His reaction was better than Blake had expected. Given what he would have seen as her betrayal of him and the White fang, she wouldn't have been surprised if he had immediately drawn Wilt on her, but instead… _this_.

Perhaps she could do even better than killing him. If he still felt something for her then maybe, just maybe, she would be able to persuade him. But she would have to play it right.

"Adam, it's good to see you again." It wasn’t.

Without conscious thought her tone had dropped an octave, her voice becoming huskier. From behind an almost inaudible whine escaping from Cardin’s lips. The alleyway itself reeked of the coppery scent of freshly spilled blood.

As callous as it was, it was impossible to help Cardin at that moment. To turn her back on Adam, was to possibly undo whatever spell she had placed on him. A severed wrist was bad, but an activated Aura of a huntsman would buy some time. The only way she could help Cardin was to talk Adam around, and if it came down to killing Adam, they were both dead anyway.

Adam advanced on her. Just like always he towered over her. His figure had always been imposing, but never towards her. Until now.

Tension entered his body with every step, his jaw jutting out, the muscles in his cheek clenching. Blake forced herself not to take a step back, not to place a hand on her weapon.

"You abandoned me." His voice rasped in the air as he came to a halt well within range of her.

"I didn't. Adam, please believe that, for me." At the personal appeal his jaw twitched. Whether it signalled a good or a bad thing, Blake couldn't tell. "I just couldn't face it anymore. What we were doing. What I was doing. I didn't want to leave you, but I had to get away from that life. I thought about you every day since."

Was that true? Thoughts of Adam often came to her mind, but only when her pillow was her worst enemy. Most of the time, life at Beacon with her friends was just far too hectic to allow her to reflect on her past. If she compared her former partner to Yang, she knew which one she would have preferred to have in her life.

But Adam didn't know what she’d found at Beacon. At her words the slightest bit of tension had drained out of his body.

"Then come back to me. We don't have to fight anymore. It can just be you and me."

"The White Fang is never going to be able to stop fighting."

"No, it is. What I've achieved here ensures that. Somewhere I knew that was the reason you left me. That's why I've done all this. It was all for you."

Blake nearly threw up. It was close, acid surged up her throat and into the back of her mouth. He had done this for her? All the people who had died today, they’d died for her? No, they’d died for whatever twisted idea he had about the remnants of their relationship. It wasn't her fault. Still if she had stayed by his side…

He took her silence as something other than disgust. "This is what you've always wanted."

That statement made her find her voice. "Are you crazy! I didn't want this!"

"This is exactly what you wanted. A place where Faunus aren't treated as second class citizens. This is what you always talked about, and I'm giving it to you." He actually seemed proud.

"How will what you've done make them treat us better? They'll only treat all Faunus worse."

"Blake after we're finished here, there will be no _they_. We will be the ones in control, in power. _They_ will either have to learn to live in this new world, or die in their old one." The flat tone of the last sentence was the most chilling part, Blake had no doubts that if it came to it, Adam would personally reside over every execution.

"Then you'll be even worse that they are."

"No we won't. After they're all gone, we'll be able to form a government. A democratic government with Faunus at the very top. Just like your parents always wanted."

Blake saw red, her shout echoed off the walls of the entirely too quiet alley. "Don't you dare bring them into this! This is not what they fought for and you know it. If they could see you now, they would be ashamed."

Adam was rocked back by her words, mouth opening slightly in shock. Her parents were the only figures he’d ever idolised. Angry as she was, she didn't let him off that easily. Her voice dripped venom with every syllable.

"And when you've killed everyone who would oppose you, which is almost everybody in Vale, what then? When you are walking over a mountain of corpses to ivory steps of your pseudo democratic government, what will you do? Do you think the rest of the world will stand idly by and allow this genocide? Do you believe Atlas won't take react to what you've done here? They will invade, where before they brought one capital ship instead they’ll bring all of them. Your precious _democracy_ will be brought down around your ears and the streets of Vale will run red with Faunus blood. So tell me Adam, do you think you can stand against the might of Atlas?" Blake spat his name.

In the face of her onslaught Adam stood straighter, his hand returning to the hilt of Wilt. "I have assurances we won't have to."

 _What?_ Some of Blake's anger drained out of her. Who’d given him assurances that the most powerful country in the world wouldn't counter attack? And what evidence had they offered to make him believe them?

"Fine, let's say those assurances hold. What do you think life will be like for the Faunus not living in Vale? After it gets out that the White Fang was behind this, they'll be rounded up and imprisoned at best. You may have improved some lives, but you've made everybody else's worse. You've set the Faunus back decades. We were making progress Adam, and now people will treat us worse than they did during the war."

"The Faunus can come and live here. Vale will be a Faunus kingdom, run by the Faunus, for the Faunus. I thought you should be able to see that. And Blake, you're lying to yourself if you think it was getting better. It's worse than ever." The look on his face said he was having trouble believing who he was talking to. "Who are you? Where is the person who actually cared about Faunus rights? Because she isn't standing in front of me. You may have forgotten about everything you stood for while you've enjoying your nice comfortable life at Beacon, but the Faunus on the streets are still suffering, still dying. Because of people like you."

Adam stalked closer to her, jaw twitching with rage. "I know you’re on a team with a Schnee, but I didn't know you'd become one. When you go to bed with a full stomach every night, do you the slaves in the mines that belong to your teammate? When she pays for you, do you even think about those who died to earn it? You're no better than she is or him." He gestured at Cardin, who’d backed into the wall which had trapped him in the alley, his wrist still cradled against his chest, crimson leaking from the cuts on his chest, wet streaks on his cheeks.

An inch of Wilt had been exposed from Blush. The situation had completely escaped from her grasp. It was doubtful that she would ever be able to talk Adam round and, as angry as he was, it was likely that he would turn on her after dispatching Cardin.

 _Plan B then._ But now it came down to it Blake didn't know how she was going to manage it. Without the element of surprise her options were limited.

Blake tensed as Adam approached, hand ready to dart to her weapon, but he just brushed past her, advancing on a bloodied Cardin. Cardin tried to make himself as small as possible, hunching into the corner where brick met brick.

"He called us animals Blake. See how he looks at us? How he despises us? Is this who you've become? Are we animals to you too?"

The broad back in front of her was what she’d been waiting for. In a motion that had been performed thousands of times, she slid her weapon from its restraint. There was the slightest scraping sound. It would have been almost inaudible to a human. Adam wasn’t.

With a speed that was staggering Adam spun. Blake had only just managed to bring Gambol Shroud ̶ ̶ still in its sheath ̶ ̶ in front of her. Adam stared at her incredulously.

"You would fight me? To protect him?"

He hadn't, or perhaps couldn't, come to the conclusion that she was trying to kill him. That was at least a plus. Adam had moved with a speed even faster than her memories. If he wanted her dead, she wouldn't stand a chance.

"To stop you murdering him, yes." It was beneficial to feed his misconstrued view of her actions.

"So, that is how far you have fallen." Adam's voice chilled her.

In one smooth motion Adam turned, Wilt snaking from its prison, the red blade bit into the side of Cardin's face, through his orbital plate and dug a furrow across his eye. The sharpened edge met resistance as the lens flexed before the front part of the eye was torn from its socket. The sickly half sphere impacted the wall with a dull splatter, and began its slow descent, vitreous fluid and blood trailing behind it. The entire thing had been far too loud for Blake; her heritage had provided her with a booming report of Wilt shearing through bone, before the splat that only wet organic matter could make.

It had all happened so fast, Wilt back in Blush before Cardin reacted. With his back to his victim Adam didn't see his agony, but Blake did. Cardin screamed. The severed wrist automatically went to his face. Ruined flesh met ruined flesh. Something in Cardin's throat tore, and he slumped back.

The single indigo eye still untouched in the sea of crimson on his face was unfocussed, but to Blake it was accusatory. She’d stood idly by while Adam had attacked him, not even raising her weapon in his defence. A keening cry was eliciting from his mouth as Cardin trembled in pain.

"Go on Blake, defend the one who would see our kind exterminated."

Adam began to turn again and this time Blake acted. Gambol Shroud lanced towards his side. It wasn't a powerful blow. It was a more a desperate attempt to halt what was happening in the alley, but it would still have taxed his Aura if it landed. It did not. With inhuman speed Adam blocked her blade, the echoing clash of metal on metal flowing into the evening air.

Not to be perturbed Blake attempted to regain the initiative. Adam had taught her how to fight, but since then she’d learnt so much on her own. Using the momentum he applied to her weapons she spun in a circle, bringing her blades ̶ ̶ one up high, the other down low ̶ ̶ back at him. The attack worked he parried the sword heading for his chest, but missed the one that struck him on the thigh.

Knocked off balance Adam growled. His foot lashed out, hitting her hard in the ribs. It hurt. At least one of them fractured with the impact. She tumbled backwards, only just managing to keep hold of her weapons.

Every breath thrust a red hot poker into her side and gasping in air for the moment she was immobile, Adam could have ended it there, but he didn't.

With her on the floor, he turned back to Cardin. Wilt flashed out again, drawing a long red line over the cheek beneath Cardin’s intact eye. The flesh flapped down his face like a torn curtain, exposing the pearlescent towers within. Adam turned back to her, his eyes shrouded in a darkness she had never seen before.

Despite the pain in her side, she forced herself up and darted towards him. Dancing round his attack she managed to get between him and Cardin.

"Adam st ̶ ̶ "

Her words were interrupted by Wilt and the ring of combat echoed down the alley. Exhausted and in pain, Blake was forced to take one step backwards then another. Even with her two blades to his one, she didn't come close to penetrating his guard and, despite the openings she knew he had, he didn't try and penetrate hers either.

Getting desperate as her shoulder hit the wall right next to Cardin, she bought her Semblance into play. It was always a slightly strange sensation, when she disappeared only to rematerialize a short distance away. It made her nerves tingle all over. This time however that was not the feeling that filled her mind, the instant she reappeared a foot lashed into her stomach.

Blake ended up in the dirt and refuse on the alley floor again. Shaking his head, Adam turned back to his cowering plaything, a third and fourth cut joined the gashes already on Cardin's chest, blood streamed down his thighs and pooled on the floor by his feet.

Blake seized the hilt of Gambol Shroud and staggered to her feet. This fight and the exertions of the rest of the day had taken their toll on her shaking body, but she couldn't give up. Adam faced her down.

The hilt of Wilt—fired from Blush—hit her just below her sternum. Blake dropped to her knees, struggling to breathe. The impact had robbed the air from her lungs and, bruised as her diaphragm was, she struggled to swallow more down.

In her helpless state, all she could do was watch as Adam with weapon back in hand advanced on Cardin. More cuts. Half an ear fell to the floor, the front of a nose. Blood rained down. Blake wanted to avert her eyes, but couldn't.

Pressed into the corner Cardin no longer looked human, instead he was a demon. Crimson covered him from head to toe, the defining features of his humanity had been carved away, flaps of skin and cloth trailed down limp all over his body.

In a just world he would have passed out, but the Aura that was trying to desperately heal him, had also prevented him from slipping into shock. After every cut he quivered, a quiet moan of anguish escaping from his ruined mouth, but that was all he could do. He didn't have the energy to fight back. The man so proud of himself had been turned into a mewling wreck under the ministrations of the one she’d once loved.

Straining, agonised, Blake stumbled lethargically back to her feet. With her ribs broken, lungs burning and coughing blood, she advanced on Adam again. For Vale, for Yang, she had to kill him.

Adam turned back to her. To him this was just a game. He was playing with her, with Cardin, knowing that they were unable to harm him. So far he hadn't tried to kill her. She could use that.

Finding a burst of strength hidden deep in the souls of those that would protect others, she leapt forward. As Wilt came towards her, she vanished appearing behind him. Adam expected that, and as before his foot lashed backwards, but this time so did she. His limb only caught her Shadow, one that instantly transformed to cerulean blue.

With his foot immobilised in the ice, Blake attacked. She still struggled to breach his defences, her body was hurting too much. Adam brought Wilt and Blush into play, and she was forced to duck his shots, even as he deflected her strikes.

With a heave he wrenched his leg free of the ice that should have held him. Chilled water erupted out of the broken sculpture of Blake, washing over their feet and mixing with the copious amount of blood already wetting the floor. Shards of ice fell to the ground. Rather than a solid block of ice, the Dust crystals had created a thin icy shell containing unfrozen water. With the way Gambol Shroud was designed they just couldn't unleash their potential fast enough to work correctly with her Shadows.

The same was true of the other Dust types. Red only produced a puff of flame not the explosion she was expecting. Violet barely blocked their vision. It was hopeless, Adam was much fresher, and much more skilled than she was.

Blake danced backwards from a thrust, using Brown Dust to shield her retreat. Wilt pierced the rock statue far too easily, but she had gained a moment to think and gather her breath.

"This is what will happen to those that oppose me Blake."

Adam span to the wreck that had once been Cardin. Wilt flashed from its sheath once more, but this time it bit much deeper, slicing through the inches of flesh and muscle. Blake watched horrified as grey coils slapped into the ground. An inhuman shriek that tore its way free from a ruined throat. Finally, after so much torment, Cardin's Aura failed, and he slipped into the blessed embrace of unconsciousness.

The stench erupting from the ruptured bowels wafted over Blake and bile ripped at the back of her throat. Of all the deaths she had seen either today or in her previous life ̶ ̶ the one Adam was intent on returning her to ̶ ̶ this was the worst. This was the one that would haunt her dreams. Not just because of the brutal nature of the torture. Not just because despite her best efforts she had been powerless to prevent it, but because of who had carried it out. Someone who had once been so close to her, was in fact the monster that everyone else had seen. Cardin had called Adam an animal and it had cost him his life, but no animal would have tortured him that way. That had all been Adam.

The perpetrator himself did not seem to be affected by the smell, or the horror of what he had just done. The part of his face she could see was blank as he turned back towards her.

"Decide whose side you are on." As he advanced on her, eyes that at one time she could have sworn had been full of compassion, were now filled with darkness as deep as that in any of the Grimm.

The plan to get him to change his mind might have worked if she’d not been thrust into this situation. The plan to assassinate him had been woefully ill-advised; it should have been obvious to her that she just wasn't capable. Now Blake backed away from him, aware of the other members of the White Fang trapping her in the alley. Weakened as she was, there was no way she would be able to slip through them.

Fighting Adam was impossible, but re-joining the ranks of the White Fang was unthinkable. She had failed in her mission and, very aware of her promise, Blake came to a decision. Truly there was only one option left to her.

Blake took in a deep a breath as the bruised muscles of her chest would allow. The air here was cleaner than at the dead-end of the alley and it was almost unbearably sweet. Up above the sky was unmarred by the smoke plumes she knew were rising from elsewhere. It was so beautiful, such an antithesis to the ugliness of the day. The wind brushed over her skin, over the ears she had finally been able to uncover. The breeze was blissful and a soft purr escaped from her throat.

Resolutely she returned her sheath to the magnetic strip along her back, and transformed Gambol Shroud back into its pistol form. Relief flooded her as she relaxed her Aura. People didn't really realise how tense it made them until they let it go. In her serene state, all the pains she had acquired throughout the day faded to the back of her mind.

Amber eyes met the mask of the man who had been her first love.

"Goodbye Adam." Blake's voice was quiet, tranquil.

With a steady thumb she disengaged the safety on her pistol. Only a single shot remained, but it would be enough. Slowly Blake raised her arm until she felt the cold touch of a barrel against her temple.

Blake hoped that the person she was addressing would be able to hear her, wherever they were. A solitary tear rolled down her cheek as, with heartfelt feeling, she whispered into the cool air of the evening.

"I'm sorry."

She squeezed the trigger.

* * *

 

Another street. Another fight. Another corpse.

It was just the way it had gone today for Jaune. Continually they had got their too late. Too late because he wasn't strong enough. There was a world of difference between training in a controlled environment, and knowing that if you slip up for a moment, the civilians you're escorting will be killed. Hours ago, he’d had to admit to himself that he just wasn't ready for this.

But that didn't stop him.

Struggling to match his enemies in skill, he made up for it with ferocity. It had worked against the Ursa when the Grimm had last breached the city walls, and it worked here. Though Crocea Mors was a simple arming sword it was sharp, and Jaune put it to good use. When feeling a solid blow on his shield his weapon would slash out biting into metal and flesh in a maelstrom of blows. Perhaps his hits weren't the most accurate. He didn't manage to incapacitate his enemies in a single strike, but that wasn't what he was aiming for.

Unlike in training, or even in the tournament, he was fighting for something. Something more important than grades or acclaim. He was fighting for others. Every hit he took was one that didn't fall on a helpless civilian. One that wouldn't rob the world of beautiful life. One that wouldn't hurt Pyrrha. Not that she needed much protection.

Normally in combat his girlfriend fought with a small smile on a face tempered by concentration. Gliding between different moves, she was beauty in action. Today was different. The smile had vanished. Her lips were pressed into a thin line, and emerald eyes contained the tightly contained fires of rage.

Under the orange light of the evening sun, they almost seem to glow. In the darkening streets, the only shadows cast were by the more capable hunters who hadn't been taken out of the fight so far. The actual extraction of civilians had comprised of barely ordered chaos.

Despite that, the defenders of Vale had made it work. Personally Jaune had seen hundreds of citizens evacuated and, if that rate had continued throughout the city, the majority of civilians should have been safe at Beacon. But that number did not include the thousands who had undoubtedly died.

The sombre thought brought Jaune back to the present. Vale, a city that he loved, was in ruins. Fires still raged. A hazy red glow that had brought him such comfort, now sickened him. The artistic architectural features of the buildings all around him were pockmarked with bullet holes and shrapnel, masonry broken and scattered over the floor.

"Jaune," Pyrrha's worried voice and hand on his arm brought him to a stop.

His partner was looking towards the square where they’d arranged to meet the other members of their team. This area had already been cleared, the crosses cut into the doors ̶ ̶ a sign that had spontaneously evolved throughout the day ̶ ̶ indicated that, but something else had caught her attention.

Some streets were mercifully free of bodies. Sadly most were not, but the road ahead was paved by them. Not just the civilians who had been shopping when it had first happened or the ones who had been caught after, but dozens of Knights were in pieces, Atlesian troops piled on top of them, interspersed with Grimm, and the more colourful corpses of hunters. That would have been bad enough but there was more: giant Paladins had been torn in half, their pilots along with them; and the larger Grimm, Deathstalkers and King Taijitus had been slaughtered, their corpses obstructing the road.

In what should have been a bustling city street, nothing moved. Nothing made noise. And nothing lived.

"Jaune, I think we should go back." Pyrrha still hadn't let go of his arm.

 _Should they?_ The entire situation was making his uneasy, but Nora and Ren were due to meet them there. They could in fact already be there waiting for them. A practiced eye roamed over the bodies ̶ ̶ a practiced eye he wished so much he hadn't acquired ̶ ̶ most looked like they had been dead a while. Surely the fight had moved on by now.

"Let's just go and check Nora and Ren aren't there first. Then we'll find a way around and try and head them off."

Something just seemed wrong, his body was screaming it at him. The leather bound hilt of Crocea Mors was drenched with his sweat. He was missing something. Something vitally important. But what? His eyes roved the buildings around the, stopping on a number of buildings with a great horizontal swathe carved through them. He was just about to speak when Pyrrha gasped.

Jaune's mouth fell open. Bodies. That was the first thing he saw. So many bodies. What must have been the corpses of well over a hundred civilians were scattered throughout the plaza, some bunched up as though they huddled together for protection, others solitary as if they had abandoned everyone in an attempt to escape. They hadn't made it.

In a day full of horrors this stood out. An act so sadistic in nature that he could barely comprehend it had been carried out here. The stench of blood and mutilated flesh that wafted out of the square was putrid. It was too much for him. The small amounts of food he had managed to swallow down during the day exited his mouth in an acidic stream, cascading onto the road surface and splattering over his legs.

Dry heaving Jaune forced himself upwards. Crouched over immobile in full view of the massacre was the last place he wanted to be. He waved a hand toward Pyrrha, conveying his desire to leave.

They’d taken a couple of steps when a sound stopped the pair of them dead. Unmistakably, a sob had flitted around the corner. Exchanging a glance they waited and another came, then another. Somewhere, in that veritable garden of slaughter, someone was crying.

Jaune didn't want to go back, but he had to. Someone was suffering. It really didn't help that the sobs were higher pitched than a man would make, or perhaps even a woman. It sounded like a girl. Growing up with seven sisters meant he had to spend many hours comforting his younger, and sometimes even older siblings. The distress of any female resonated deeply within him, kicking his protective side into gear.

He tried not to let his imagination run amok. He failed, his treacherous mind conjured images of a young girl who looked too much like his youngest sister crying in a pool of her parent’s blood, blonde hair dyed red. Too terrified to move.

When his parents had informed him that they weren't going to be able to make the Vytal festival he’d been bitterly disappointed. Now, knowing his family could have been caught up in all this, he thanked any and all the gods for the unique circumstances that had prevented them coming.

On the fringes of the plaza the smell had been bad, stepping into it, it was worse. It wasn't a scent. It was a wall that struck him forcibly in the face and flowed into his mouth. A stench so thick he could almost chew it. The unmistakable coppery tang of blood mixed with the miasma of bodily waste.

He tried to ignore the urge to throw up again. Just as he tried to avoid looking at anything on the ground. The victims were the last thing he wanted to see but while looking where to put his feet. He saw them anyway.

After an entire day of walking past body after body, it shouldn't have affected him all that much. He should have gotten used to it. Jaune was glad that he hadn't.

Lying in a clearing mercifully free of blood, a figure wearing grey was curled up in the foetal position, shoulders heaving with sobs. Perspective changing as they neared, Jaune saw for the first time the shock of orange hair and the pink blow. Recognition flashed through his mind.

A single heavy step towards her was all he managed before Pyrrha's iron grip on his arm dragged him to a halt. His complaint died on his tongue. His steadfast companion, one of the most competent fighters in the city, was terrified.

Of what he wasn't sure, and he didn't think Pyrrha knew exactly what either. Green eyes roved around the square with lightning movements, snapping from point to point trying to connect whatever independent thoughts she had in her head, with the feeling in her gut.

Still, it was Penny and he wasn't going to leave her lying in the middle of square when he could he help her. Gently prising slender fingers off his bicep Jaune closed the gap albeit more cautiously than he would have, searching for whatever had spooked Pyrrha.

Everyone in the city bore the marks of what had happened today, ruined clothes and skin soiled by grime. What made Penny stand out is that she looked almost unmarred. Her grey overalls had none of the tell-tale signs of combat. Even her hair had barely a strand out of place.

"Penny," Jaune said her name softly, crouching down next to her.

Halfway through a sob, she started at his voice. Her eyes remained clenched shut as she replied imploringly, sounding almost like a child. "No… no… go away."

She was in shock. He placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her. "Penny, it's me Jaune. Ruby's friend."

Just as he finished the last syllable Pyrrha wrenched him down and to the side, a blur flashing through the space that had previously been occupied by his head. Making unconscious use of all the hours that Pyrrha had spent training him, he rolled on his shoulder and came to his feet, presenting his shield to the direction the threat had come from.

" _No… they're friends… no._ Run! _Ruby's friends… my friends… I won't._ Run!" Penny's features were twitching and shaking. Her voice itself was strange, half the time quiet and pleading, and the other half forceful, shouting into the air.

The clash of metal came from behind him and he saw a sword ̶ ̶ one of Penny’s ̶ ̶ spin off Akoúo and clatter to the ground. But rather than remain motionless as would be expected, it jumped into the air and flew back at him. Pyrrha swatted it back to the floor.

"Penny it's us. You're safe." Jaune called out, even as he was dragged backwards by his partner.

" _No... don't make me… no… n ̶ ̶_ " The regretful cries of the girl hugging herself on the floor were cut off abruptly.

Slowly Penny uncoiled herself and rose to her feet. Jaune stopped, hopeful she’d realised they weren't there to hurt her. That notion died as soon as he saw her face. In the place of what had been there, desperation, sorrow, hurt, fear, instead there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. The visage was emotionless, inhuman. Whatever had happened, this was no longer the Penny he knew.

The sinister grating sounds of metal being dragged over concrete sounded from across the plaza. One by one blades gathered around her, floating immobile in the air, all pointed at them.

"We have to go." Pyrrha whispered ever so quietly, shepherding him away from the girl facing them both down.

Pyrrha's leg swept his own from beneath him. The landing was softer than it should have been. Jaune came face to face with corpse staring sightlessly up but, even in death, his eyes still had more life than Penny's currently did.

Above him, Pyrrha was a blur of motion, Miló and Akoúo lashing out. This time instead of clattering to the ground as she blocked them, the swords reversed their courses and came back at her. For the time being they ignored Jaune, concentrating only on his partner. He pushed himself to his feet, no longer caring what fluid his hand had just been plunged into.

Recklessly he charged towards Pyrrha, shield protecting the pair of them, the shocks of heavy impacts reverberating up his arm. The two of them managed to at least hold off their adversary. But where against a Knight or the Grimm they could go on the offensive, against floating blades they could only defend. The puppet master still stood expressionless two score feet away in the same spot she had always been.

More swords joined the melee. Jaune found himself getting stretched. Fighting one opponent was hard, but defending against three separate attacks was close to impossible. Pyrrha was having to cover more and more of his half of their defensive circle. A sword slammed into his breastplate. It didn't penetrate the metal or his Aura, but it tested his already precarious balance. For the second time in as many minutes, he fell to the ground.

Pyrrha glanced at him over her shoulder. In that moment, he saw her make a decision. One that tested all of her resolve and at the same time was so easy. Instead of standing guard over him as he rose, she surrendered all the ground they’d managed to gain towards their escape, and leapt to attack the one controlling the strings.

"Jaune, run!" Pyrrha cried out.

For her it must have been a gamble. She’d left him practically defenceless but, as she knew they would, the weapons followed the one who the greatest threat. Anyone else would have gone down under the onslaught of half a dozen independent attacks, but not Pyrrha.

The four time winner of the Mistral tournament was the epitome of unequalled combat prowess. Miló flashed through the air weaving a spellbinding pattern which parried multiple strikes with each movement, Akoúo was no less effective, the broad shield protecting her flank perfectly. Pyrrha was untouchable, and throughout everything she continued to press forward.

Jaune only wanting to help, moved towards her. Without turning her head, Pyrrha somehow knew what he was doing.

"Jaune, go… I'll catch up… Please." Her pleas came between strikes.

Standing motionless, he was caught in a split second of indecision. The overwhelming, almost primal urge to defend his friend ̶ ̶ to not be the one stuck in the tree ̶ ̶ but the feeling was tempered both by Pyrrha's cries, and by the smallest hint of fear.

The fight taking place before him was well beyond his level of martial skill. Even from a distance he was unable to track everything that was happening. Both Pyrrha's and Penny's weapons moved almost faster than he could see and, as much as he loathed admitting it, in the midst of that, his only contribution would be as a distraction.

Still it was Pyrrha. Mind made up he started forward again, only to be halted by another cry ringing out over the rapid beat of clashing metal.

"If you love me you'll go! Please."

 _Did he?_ It was surely too early to answer that question, he liked her, a lot, but _love?_ And what did it mean that she was willing to use that word? Use that word to get him to leave her? No, he couldn't do it.

As he ran towards them, Pyrrha finally managed to engage Penny in melee combat. The two figures blurred as they fought, Penny more acrobatic, the ring of swords following her movements. If that wasn't enough, the other swords still attacked independent of their master.

Even for someone as talented as Pyrrha, it was too much. She had to split her attention too many ways, counter too many threats. In quick succession some managed to breach her guard. Pyrrha was thrown bodily backwards. She flipped in the air before landing on one knee, right hand planted on the ground.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune shouted, his legs pumping. He was almost close enough to protect her.

Pyrrha screamed.

The sound bounced around the plaza but it was not the high pitched scream of agony, it was one of exertion. The ground shifted beneath Jaune. It wasn't the concrete, but all the tiny pieces of metal, that had gathered during in the course of the day were fleeing towards the perimeter of the square. Snapping sounded from all around him as belt buckles and buttons broke their bonds and whistled through the air, embedding themselves in the surrounding buildings. Knights and corpses ̶ ̶ where any metal items were trapped on them ̶ ̶ shifted, sliding away from the epicentre. A huge invisible hand grabbed Jaune’s breastplate and flung him backwards.

He managed to turn his tumble into a more competent fall, but instead of hitting the ground or slamming into a wall, Jaune sailed through a shattered first floor window and landed square on a couch.

From his vantage point above the street, Jaune could see what happening in the plaza. His jaw fell open. All the bodies that had littered the plaza had been swept away, and were piled half a dozen thick around the perimeter. They’d been dragged through the blood soaking the ground like morbid brushes and had painted grisly lines on the concrete. The crimson starburst pointed inwards, towards Pyrrha who knelt at the centre of the gruesome tableau.

In a matter of moments, the square had all but been cleared leaving only two figures inside of it, one on the floor, the other hanging in the air. Penny was lying horizontal a few feet off the ground, straining against an invisible force, two swords planted up to their crosspieces in the concrete before her.

Pyrrha's eyes were locked resolutely on her adversary, a grimace on her lips, but her determination was obvious in line of her body. Penny was the opposite. Despite her precarious position, her face was still entirely expressionless, and she gave no sign as the blades that had been thrown outwards by the initial burst from Pyrrha came flashing back in.

Penny dropped to the ground as the flying swords halted in the air, their points yearning to drive into the flesh of the person who held them at bay. Slowly, inexorably, they began to creep forward; Penny's strength winning out against Pyrrha's Semblance.

From below the window where he stood, Jaune heard grating. A rifle discarded by a Knight slid out from under the corpse pile before shooting through the air. It slammed into one of the swords edging toward Pyrrha, smashing it away from her.

Pyrrha raised a hand. Assorted metal items ̶ ̶ rifles, dismembered Knight limbs, chairs, tables ̶ ̶ rose to the call of their master. Penny's blades were knocked out of the sky, even as the majority of the items flew straight at her.

More swords emerged from her back, erupted from where they had been buried in the buildings all around. They speared into the improvised projectiles rocketing towards her, throwing them off target.

As they clattered past the android, Pyrrha shifted her hand. All the debris that had missed reversed its course, heading for Penny's exposed back. Penny leapt aside, even as she aimed more swords at Pyrrha.

Those blades were intercepted by more random metal items and pinned in the debris, Pyrrha returned them with interest. Watching from overhead, Jaune's maw only got wider. Hundreds of pieces of metal were engaged in a battle above the street, and at the centre of the maelstrom was Pyrrha.

It was common knowledge that she was good ̶ ̶ you didn't win the Mistral tournament four times in a row without a lot better than average ̶ ̶ and among her friends it was common knowledge what her Semblance was. But he’d never seen her like this.

In training he’d felt Pyrrha's Semblance as it shifted Crocea Mors just enough to rob him of what he had thought of a sure hit, but he’d never thought that it had the strength to throw him sixty feet through the air and onto a couch. To date, the most extravagant use of her Semblance he had seen was during the food fight. What was happening out there was on an entirely different scale.

A cacophony of ringing noise beat at his eardrums as dozens of items clashed a second. What must have been tonnes of metal flew through the air, controlled with such skill that they may as well have been living things. Jaune found himself unable to track them and as subsequent missiles got closer.

For the first time since he had come to know her, Pyrrha unleashed her full Semblance. It was awe-inspiring, and it was utterly terrifying. Every time a sword managed to deflect one item, Pyrrha just waited until Penny was no longer pushing on it, before pulling it back and whipping it towards her. Every time Penny dodged something that had breached her screen of defences, something else lanced towards her. Under the constant assault, she’d withdrawn all her weapons to defend herself. It wasn't enough.

There were simply too many attacks, and it was not only the quantity of items affecting Penny, but also their variety. A chair only took a single blade to stop, the same for the limb of a Knight, but the strike had to be precise lest it glance off the armour. Rifles spun unpredictably, often requiring more than one sword to make sure. On occasion larger pieces of metal like the entire body of a Knight gained flight, and those took multiple swords to stop, stripping her defences from elsewhere.

Whenever a heavier piece of metal was tossed towards Penny, the reaction threw Pyrrha the other way. She kept on moving, boots barely touching the ground as she scooped more and more things from the floor and into her control.

The smaller items ̶ ̶ the coins, the belt buckles, the keys ̶ ̶ shot towards Penny like bullets. The only defence she’d managed to devise was to erect fan-like arrangements of blades which spun rapidly, chopping the air with each revolution.

Despite the massive advantages than Penny had. The abilities that had made her the favourite for the tournament. That made people say she was unbeatable. The same abilities that had allowed her to slaughter everything that had entered this square. Pyrrha stood against her.

And stopped her dead.

There was no doubt in Jaune's mind that if Pyrrha fought like this in a tournament, she would win in heartbeat. People had said it was unfair to have to fight ten of Penny's blades, Pyrrha was fighting scores, and her response numbered in the hundreds. No one, no student, no teacher, not even Ozpin, would have been able to cope under that barrage, and neither could Penny.

Coins tore at her flesh. Where she should have bled instead it revealed a silver exoskeleton just under her artificial skin. Rifles smashed against her limbs, cracking into pieces. Keys ripped into her clothes and knocked her off balance. But despite her situation, the pummelling she was taking, her face remained expressionless.

Ten blades withdrew from their defensive duties and began to spin, forming a cylinder which pointed straight at the flitting form of Pyrrha. A sickly green glow gathered at their base. Pyrrha halted in mid-air, hanging immobile, and stared down the barrel of the impromptu weapon.

An entire Paladin erupted from beneath the pile of corpses. Accelerating towards her at the same time as the facades on the shops opposite were flung outwards—the metal bars in the concrete support pillars Pyrrha had been using to brace herself the entire fight ripped from their homes under the stress—but enough held. The giant mech hurtled though the air, travelling on perpendicular trajectory to Penny that would miss her by thirty feet. The android concentrated on pouring energy into her weapon.

Pyrrha screamed.

Whilst still hanging in the air, the Paladin came abreast of her and then its path curved as if it was tethered to Pyrrha by a huge chain. It accelerated as the radius of its turn was reduced and the twenty scattered the swords that hadn't finished their build up, and slammed into Penny.

Penny broke.

The Paladin only slowed by the slightest faction, its enormous momentum gathering the girl into its grip. Together they tore across the plaza and smashed through a wall, then another, before finally coming crashing to a rest. The building opposite from Jaune, quivered and collapsed. Dust billowed across the square, forming a paste where it came into contact with the blood.

The blades all fell from the sky simultaneously, clattering to the concrete. Jaune found he still could not close his mouth. The way Pyrrha fought had been incredible but, even as she had continued coordinating hundreds of objects in the air, she’d thrown a _freaking_ Paladin. Pyrrha had explained that she had to brace to use her Semblance, and that meant his poor girlfriend had been suspended between two twenty tonne weights which had tried to tear her apart.

But Pyrrha was stronger than that, and she’d defeated Penny. Jaune regretted her death, but the person they had been fighting hadn't been Penny. Penny wouldn't have slaughtered all the people in the square. The Penny he knew was so full of life. Not the inhuman monster that had faced them down. He would honour the memory of the girl that she was, before everything had happened.

Standing triumphantly still facing the collapsed building with sentinels still hovering above ̶ ̶ despite the grime and sweat coating her body ̶ ̶ Jaune had never been more attracted to Pyrrha. In a world of powerful warriors, even though she was a student, his girlfriend was right near the top.

The warrior herself finally turned away from the collapsed building and all the objects that had been suspended in the air clattered to the ground. Pyrrha sank down to her haunches, breathing heavily, but she still found the energy to smile at him.

Jaune made his way down the stairs and out the door, trying not to think about what he was stepping on. The change in perspective from the first to ground floor shouldn't have made much difference but it did. A Paladin near the door was simply enormous and Pyrrha had used one as a missile. It was crazy and it was brilliant. Just like Pyrrha. He opened his mouth to tell her.

Something shifted.

He cried out.

Pyrrha spun.

Penny rose.

Whatever she had been, she was no longer the anamorphosis of a human. The colossal impact had made sure of that. The side of her face was depressed, her jaw swinging loose from a single hinge, tongue flopping down. The right side of her chest had caved in, the simulated ribs having shattered. One of her legs was mangled, a bone sticking through her synthetic skin. An arm had been ripped away, and hung by a thread. Rising from the debris, she was reminiscent of the horrors that were invented to inspire terror in naughty children.

A human would be dead. But Penny wasn't human, and she took a step.

An awful dragging step, then another. Eyes that were so devoid of everything it meant to be alive locked on the one who had done this to her. The inexorable march continuing, the swords dotted around the plaza rose to her call.

It was enough to snap Pyrrha out of her stasis. Something small flashed through the air. Penny didn't try to block. It struck her in the upper mouth, spraying artificial teeth across the ground, snapping her neck back. And still she came on.

Pyrrha sent something else hurtling towards the abomination, even as she breathed life into all the items she’d discarded, gathering them in a protective cloud around her.

Jaune saw her tense as all the blades simultaneously shot towards their target. And then, it was with some trepidation, he realised every single sword was coming towards him. Stumbling backwards, he tripped before hunkering down beneath his shield, curling himself into a small a target as possible.

Pyrrha screamed.

Rather than the painful death he prepared himself for Jaune felt nothing. No agony, no impacts, nothing. Metal rained to the ground all around him. He poked his head out to see the entire cloud Pyrrha had gathered, falling to the floor, most pieces impaled with blades. Once again his partner had saved his life.

Jaune glanced at her and realised that he had miscounted. Every blade in the square had shot at him, apart from one. The lone sword he’d missed in his panic had sheathed itself in Pyrrha's back. The silver blade was crimson, the same colour that flowed down her breastplate, soaked into her carmine skirt, and continued down over her legs before joining the blood already pooled on the floor.

Her face, the face that so many saw every morning on their cereal boxes, the face he saw every morning in their room, the one which displayed her innate strength to all, had changed. Instead of compassion, joy, intelligence, with emerald eyes staring disbelievingly downwards, she was confused. And she was scared. Her lower lip trembling as her limbs hung inert.

The blade was ripped from her and, like a marionette whose strings had been cut, she collapsed to the floor. The puppet master stood behind her, the sword stained with his partner's blood leaping to her one working hand. Without showing any emotion Penny shuffled past Pyrrha's corpse and continued towards him.

_Snap._

Deep down inside of him. In the depths of his soul, something happened. Something changed. Something broke.

And Jaune broke with it.

An inferno rose.

And Jaune rose with it.

He breathed it in. The fire swarmed through his chest, cascaded along his nerves, gathered behind his eyes until they were fit to burst. With a body shaking with rage, he advanced on the one who had stolen everything from him.

In answer to his awakening a sword flashed towards him. It would have been ridiculously easy to dodge, but there was no need. It struck his aura and skittered off into distance. Nothing would stop him in his quest. Another step. Another attempt to kill him. Another failure. Penny didn't… couldn't realise what she was facing. What he was.

Jaune blinked the fire from his eyes.

Penny had grown… _how?_ She towered over him. Looking down on him. _That wasn't right._ He swung at her, and found that his hand no longer held Crocea Mors. _What?_ His arm shook. He looked down.

The inferno inside of him was leaking, streaming from holes in his armour. Holes he didn't remember. It flowed down his body. Jaune coughed fire. It was sticky and wet and it made it difficult to breathe.

Penny grew again. She was as tall as a building now. She could have stepped on him like an ant, but instead she limped off.

The red in his vision faded to grey, until there was only one source of carmine left. He reached his hand forward, grasped the gaps between the paving slabs, and dragged himself towards it.

_Why was he so weak?_

Another pull and he was closer. Then another. He had to keep going.

Again his arm reached out.

His heart shattered anew.

Even in death Pyrrha was beautiful. Her hair cascaded around her, somehow unblemished by the blood. Jaune wanted to get closer. To join her wherever she was. To never leave her. Never let her walk alone.

Again he pulled himself forward.

Despite everything else the only scent he could smell was unmistakably Pyrrha. The sweetest fragrance he’d ever experienced.

Again.

Slowly, laboriously he pulled his head onto her chest, not her armour but onto soft skin, and he finally let his arm fall to his sides. With his ear pressed against her, he stared up at her chin. He felt sad that it was over, honoured that he had met her, amazed that he could call her his girlfriend and he felt… _what?_

 _What did he feel?_ It was strange, foreign. Something he hadn't felt before and yet it felt familiar… so familiar. Similar to his Aura and yet it wasn't. It didn't come from inside of him, but just under his ear.

His metaphysical self yearned for it, and he obliged, reaching towards it with every fibre of his being, wanting to savour the experience at the last. With a gentle touch, his essence, his soul, brushed against it. It was weak, the slightest spark, but he recognised it.

The fire within him, reignited with a ferocity that tore through his pained form. He could have hoarded it for himself, but that wasn't who he was. He directed it all away from him, downwards, outwards, into that flittering memory of warmth.

As incandescent flames consumed his body, Jaune lay with his head on the chest of the woman who he realised he loved.

Too late.

 


	14. Chapter 14

Blake squeezed the trigger. Just as she knew he would, Adam looked away. It was an incredibly risky strategy, but it was the only available to her which would give her the slightest chance to escape the alleyway. Pinned between Adam and the other members of the White Fang, she needed to buy some time. Feigning her own suicide was what she had come up with.

With any other weapon it would have been impossible, but Gambol Shroud was her design. She’d lovingly built and assembled every single part of it, and knew the exact point that the trigger would cause it to discharge. It gave her a few millimetres of leeway.

Despite everything he’d done in this alleyway, Adam was still clearly in love with her. Anyone else would be dead by now.

Just like Cardin.

The brutality of his death was sure to haunt her for a long time. Even more so because of her helplessness to stop it. It was a selfish wish, but she hoped he’d heard her apology and forgiven her for failing. But even if he had, Cardin would be another weight latched onto her soul until the day she died.

But she was not Cardin. Adam had held himself back in their fight. With the gun pointed at her head he’d frozen, the parts of his eyes that were visible through the mask, wide open in horror. When she’d squeezed the trigger, he’d turned away, not willing to see his love die.

Adam was too far away to prevent her pulling the trigger, perhaps even too disbelieving that Blake had chosen that way out over him, but he would have been close enough to prevent her escape. Now with his eyes averted, she had a window.

Before raising her weapon she’d relaxed her Aura, having been active and sustaining hits throughout the day it was much weaker than it normally was. Even Adam's lightest attacks had done some serious damage. The pain in her side was testament to that. With her Aura active it would have been constantly expending itself to heal her many injuries. That was something she couldn't afford. She needed every available bit of it.

The brief cessation had allowed it to pool inside of her. There would be enough to bring her Aura up to full strength for at least a couple of heartbeats. _It would have to do._

Blake leapt upwards. Relying on her own muscles she would only have managed a couple of feet at most, but her Semblance allowed her to change direction even while in the air, and the direction she chose was straight up.

Gambol Shroud flew from her hand. She waited until it spun to the correct orientation before pulling on the ribbon wrapped around her wrist. The last bullet she owned shot towards the ground. The recoil sent the pistol hurtling over the roofs, the silk trailing after it.

The White Fang members sprinted towards her or were bringing their ranged weapons to bear. Adam had turned back and began to raise Blush ̶ ̶ obviously not willing to let her escape from his clutches, even if he had to hurt her.

If he hadn't been looking away, he would have already stopped her, but his squeamishness had allowed her time to carry out the second part of her escape plan. While every eye had been glued to the hand holding a pistol against her head, her left had been scrambling around in her pocket, fingers brushing over the rough surfaces of the Dust crystals that she’d haphazardly thrust into it after finding they were too large to use in Gambol Shroud.

The moment that her feet had left the floor, she had ripped her hand from its confines, along with its very dangerous bounty, and cast the crystals at the floor.

Her Aura hardened just before they hit. The first crystal impacted with the tinkle of glass dropped on a solid surface. The second blue crystal also failed to have harness enough energy for the cracks inherent in its structure to propagate. The third though, the one that contained the barely restrained fires of creation, detonated.

Flames ripped throughout the alleyway, funnelled by the high walls. The thermal bloom expanded upwards, forcing its way down Blake's throat and tearing the air from her lungs. The heat scorched her clothes and singed hairs all over her body but, with her Aura resembling something like its full strength, the flames were unable to cause any significant harm.

The heat was the least of her worries. Razor sharp shards of ice crystallised in the air before they were caught up in the turbulence. Thrown in every direction. Her Aura failed. They dug furrows in her skin, and where they buried themselves they sapped the warmth from the surrounding flesh.

Electricity arced through the alleyway. It gouged holes in the walls, and with a crackling ferocity leapt between anything that could conduct it. The sizzling cyan tendrils leapt into the surging tide of the White Fang, melting flesh and searing clothes into skin.

The ribbon around Blake's wrist snapped taught. She swung into the wall, hard. Ribs that were likely already fractured came under a fresh assault. Blake saw white as agony flared along her nerves.

But despite that. Despite not being able to see. Not being able to breathe. Despite the pressure waves driving their way into her sensitive ears. All the shrapnel that was still tearing into her, Blake gathered her vestiges of her remaining strength and began to climb.

It was torturous, and it was slow. Usually she could fly up the side of buildings, scaling them in a matter of heartbeat.  She barely made even a tenth of that pace.

The uncontrolled reaction below continued entirely unabated. The Dust crystals continued to break into smaller pieces. The available surface area increasing, the reactions only intensified. Brown Dust materialised chunks of rock that were plucked up by the wind ripping along the alleyway and sent careening from the walls. In the air they were infused with lightning and exploded in a molten corona of colours, sending shards surging in every direction. Flames hot enough to melt brick raged in an inferno, instantly evaporating any ice created. Pockets of steam erupted upwards.

Blake grabbed the gutter of the building and hauled herself onto the roof. Tumbling from the slight ledge at the lip, her body went limp as it shut down in an attempt to cope with unfair demands its owner had placed on it.

The healthy teenage body that had risen from her bed earlier in the day was a wreck of its former self. Blood dripped from numerous cuts, slices of flesh hung open to the air, and a frigid chill spread to her core from the shards of ice which had buried themselves deep inside.

The deltoid of her right arm had torn where her bodyweight had slammed down onto it as the ribbon had snapped taught, the ligaments strained as they had prevented her shoulder being ripped from its socket. Her side was a flowing pool of molten agony. Every breath sent intense spikes of pain rocking though her. Blake's mind clouded as it rode the waves of pain. Blake had never been this injured before. In all honesty it scared her.

Concentrating on the fear, she used it as fuel to push herself to her knees. Her arm shook under her, but she managed it. In the alleyway all the different types of Dust were still battling for supremacy although the intensity of conflict was lower, the majority of the crystals having been consumed.

It would have been so easy for Blake to just sit there, and wait for one of the members of the White Fang to find their way up to her. With what had just occurred, the numerous injuries or maybe even deaths, they would kill her quickly. Then she could rest.

It was tempting. So tempting, but the golden promise she made was foremost in her mind. No matter what, she wouldn't break it. Not while the slightest breath still flowed through her lungs. Her legs shook as she struggled to her feet.

A practiced tug of the ribbon was enough to unhook Gambol Shroud from where it was wrapped around one of the industrial chimneys. It had been a lucky shot, but you make your own. Without any rounds and in her current state, the weapon was more or less impotent, and she sheathed it.

Blake hazarded a look over the precipice into the alleyway below. The release of energy was still occurring, though it was much dissipated from the crescendo it had been earlier. The members of the White Fang had scattered, though through the dust and smoke several dark figures were splayed on the floor. Not Adam though.

A figure was weathering the storm. Adam glowed bright scarlet. His Semblance absorbing the energies pounding throughout the maelstrom. It has been a long shot, but Adam was just too powerful to fall to such a random attack. Cognisant of the angered shouts audible over the crackling sound of electricity, she started off.

The first step was almost her last. As her weight came down on her leg in the first pace of a jog, it almost buckled beneath her. Her jaw clenched shut in an effort not to cry out as a red hot poker buried itself in her hamstring. Grimacing Blake reached down and pressed her nail into the large puncture wound on her thigh. Teeth grinding together and with eyes screwed shut, she gained purchase on the Dust created shard of rock and ripped it out. It was all she could do not to scream but, bereft of the obstruction, her Aura began to attempt to somewhat heal the muscle.

Wary of how much time had passed, Blake moved off again, but this time much more carefully. Her leg still hurt, but it wasn't much more than a particularly high wave on the sea of torment her body was going through. The gap she’d bounded over so easily on her way here was cavernous. Throwing herself out above the abyss, she performed the action that she had done countless times before and activated her Semblance.

It was difficult to keep finding the energy to continue. To keep ignoring the pain, but she kept Yang's face in the forefront of her mind. Not how she’d last seen her, defeated and distraught as she had let her walk away, but instead her radiant appearance after the party when she had been so full of mischievous life. It gave her strength.

Miraculously no one had seen her as she neared the edge of the White Fang held territory. Even the cries of alarm were softer here. Heading in the opposite direction to Beacon had worked. The troops guarding the perimeter, were jumpy. They didn't know how to react to whatever had happened inside the supposed secure area to their backs. Every noise caused them to twitch bringing their guns to bear at nothing.

A lone Beowolf ambling along the street in front of the checkpoint provided the final distraction Blake needed. As the guards aimed at the Grimm, a quick Semblance-enhanced jump over the road, and she was finally free.

But by no means safe. Though the immediate danger of the White Fang was diminished, the threat from the Grimm was still ever-present. They feasted on the carrion caused by the day's events. On the rooftops, her treacherous body stopped producing adrenaline. Without its numbing embrace, the injuries that Blake had been able to ignore began to pile up. Every other step was heavy, the puncture wound to her hamstring causing her to grimace. At least one of her ribs was fractured, and every sharp breath courtesy of her exertion lanced into her side.

Her escape route had allowed her to slip any pursuit, but it also meant that Beacon was a lot further away from her current position. Walking at the best pace she could, Blake knew it would take hours. Hours of constant danger, pain, and the risk of collapsing.

With some time her Aura should be able to heal the more debilitating wounds. She just had to give it the opportunity to work unhindered. Mind made up, she performed one final leap across a road and landed on a building with rooftop access. It was a shop, but like most in Vale it had apartments above it.

Blake blessed whatever deities she believed in as the door swung open without resistance. Of course lock picking was a skill in her repertoire, but with hands shaking with fatigue it would have been close to impossible, and any noise of breaking the lock would have drawn curious ears.

The stairway was dark and Blake supported her weight on the hand rail, trying to ignore the crimson footprints that remained on the hard wood as testament to her passage. The blood still seeping down her legs from the wounds her Aura hadn't managed to close went from staining wood to carpet as she moved into the living area proper.

Shuffling laboriously over to kitchen, Blake raided the cupboards for anything high on calories. With her mouth full of chocolate, she limped into the first bedroom that she found.

It was small, obviously a child's room ̶ ̶ probably a boys judging by some of the toys ̶ ̶ but the bed was ever so beckoning. It gathered Blake in its embrace as she took her weight of her aching feet for what seemed like the first time in decades.

Intending to send a message to Yang, she dropped her scroll on the bedside table when it became apparent a piece of shrapnel had broken it. There was nothing more that could be done about that. She buried herself entirely under the quilt and curled into a ball.

It was nice. With her senses obscured she almost felt safe. The cessation of the necessity of movement was almost a drug in itself and she drank it in. The sheets begun getting damp as her blood soaked into them. She knew she should probably do something about that.

But first, she'd just rest her eyes for a few seconds…

* * *

 

Ruby trailed behind Weiss. It was where she had been for hours. Walking behind, staring at her back, trying to come to terms with what she had seen. Trying to forget.

The day that had started so well, had descended into _this. Whatever it was._ In the morning, Weiss' cool hand had been an object of adulation. Now it was covered in the blood of that girl. That sight of Weiss _hurting_ her so… _what,_ kept rising unbidden from the halls of her memory, parading itself in her vision.

If Weiss had been angry, it would have been so easy to understand. _Angry people did bad things_. If she’d been emotionless, cold. Then Weiss would just have been a crazy person hurting someone.

But in that bedroom, Weiss hadn't been those things. When Ruby had entered the first thing that had caught her gaze was the body. A sight that had been far too common today, something that was best ignored and not thought about. The second thing she had seen ̶ ̶ as Weiss went skidding to her knees beside her ̶ ̶ had been the girl.

Someone who couldn't be ignored. The thin agonised cries had torn into Ruby, and she’d shut down. The cries so reminded her of another sound, from long ago. When another young girl had had her heart ripped out and scattered to the winds. Ruby so wanted to be Yang for the girl. To help. To make her better, but she was not Yang. Instead she’d remained frozen in place, staring.

Weiss had been Yang. She was the one who had gone to the girl's side, comforting her, even as Ruby saw her partner's heart break. When Weiss had begun singing, it had been such a beautiful sound, such an antithesis to what had come before it. Weiss had an incredible voice, one that very few heard anymore. Any requests for a performance were quickly rebutted, and only on occasion were the smooth scales audible over cascading water.

Of course Ruby had watched the recorded performances and they had taken her breath away but they were a pale imitation beside the live thing. Even with tears cascading down her face, Weiss' voice was angelic. It soothed and, in that moment of crystalline beauty, Ruby had believed that Weiss would make it all better.

The betrayal of that belief was what hurt most, when Weiss had unsheathed Myrtenaster she’d wanted to rush forward, cry out, do something, to preserve her illogical fallacy. But instead she had watched, _what she had watched_.

In the end Weiss hadn't made it all better. She’d failed, just as Yang had failed all those years ago. Nothing her sister had done had made their mum come home from her mission, and nothing Weiss could have done would have saved that girl. That was the logical realisation, but emotions aren't logical.

Weiss had _hurt_ that girl. Trapped in her immobile body, it was something that Ruby couldn't ignore. That was how she coped with death, she pushed it down inside of her and tried not to think about it. Tried not to remember the person that the world had lost, because if she remembered them, she would have to remember the one who had left the cavernous void in her chest.

Weiss had done it and cried whilst doing it. It would have been easier to discount her as a psychopath, but Weiss wasn't. She cared and had still carried out the act. Done the opposite of what huntresses were meant to. They were meant to save people, that was why they existed. They were the fairy tale heroes made real.

And in this scenario, Weiss was the villain. But Ruby knew that wasn't true. Deep down inside of her, in a place that she didn't tread, she knew the girl would have died regardless. Died in agony as the life seeped from her, Weiss had saved her in the only way possible. A way that Ruby would never have considered, or have had the strength to enact.

Weiss had found that strength, even through her emotional anguish. She’d helped the girl and afterwards she had hugged the girl to her and cried. Ruby knew it was her duty to comfort Weiss, but her body wouldn't respond to her commands. It wouldn't take its gaze off of the small girl.

The touch on her arm had caused her to jump. It had been involuntary. The contact had startled her from the dark thoughts circling her mind. In the brief instant where Ruby had met the eyes of her partner, she’d seen indescribable hurt flash through them. Before any words could be said, Weiss had brushed past her.

In the hours since Weiss hadn't slowed down, hadn't stopped. She’d checked every building. She’d thrown herself recklessly into any fight, foregoing her usual precise grace and instead attacking with a ferocity that wholly didn't suit her slight frame.

The fights were the only time that Weiss allowed Ruby to come anywhere near to her. Any other time she approached, her partner turned away and sped up. Even the usual relieved celebrations at the end of combat were entirely gone. Instead Weiss would look her up and down, checking for any injuries, before moving off.

Weiss had regressed to being the girl who had arrived at Beacon. Not the one she had grown to be. Whenever Weiss spoke to any of the people they were escorting, her voice was ice cold, and they shied away from her.

And Ruby knew the transformation was at least partially her fault. She knew it how it must have looked to Weiss when she reached out for comfort. But every time that she managed to catch up with Weiss, the explanation that had been so carefully prepared vanished from her mind, replaced with the image of what Weiss had done in that room. The sight of the same hand that had so lovingly caressed her face, covered with blood of a young girl.

That picture was the one that, above all the truly horrific things that she had witnessed today, broke her. People she didn't know dying could be suppressed, her partner taking a life could not.

So Ruby trailed behind Weiss in silent contemplation, attempting to deal with the events that had occurred. The sharp sun of the day had been replaced by the softer light of the evening, only made darker by the plumes of smoke that rose into the sky from all over the city.

The pair of them walked along quiet, desecrated streets, together and yet, alone. They hadn't seen anyone in hours. The chaotic evacuation had largely been a success, and most of those who had orchestrated it had fallen back behind the defences to rest and recuperate. They hadn't though.

Ruby had followed without question. Walking, searching, fighting. They were all distractions. Even though her body was hurt and strained, it was better to keep pushing than think about the emotional consequences of the day.

But there was no one left. No one alive at any rate. With obvious reluctance, Weiss had started the long assent to Beacon. Ruby, with nothing left to distract her, turned her mind inwards.

The problems driving the wedge between them were hers, not Weiss', and it was up to her to solve them. In response to her actions, Weiss had closed herself off. She would not be the one to make the first move to patch things up, Ruby knew it was up to her. She wanted to fix everything so desperately.

This morning had been one of the best that Ruby had ever experienced. Waking up in Weiss' bed, with one soft thigh draped over her own, an arm across her chest, and with Weiss' face nuzzling into her shoulder had been the perfect way to start the day. She’d been content to just watch Weiss sleep peacefully.

Ruby wanted that again. Even if the world had been irreversibly changed, she and Weiss could surely return to what they had been before all this. All it needed were the correct words, the right apology, and it would all be as if none of this had ever happened. As if Weiss hadn’t…

The streets near the north side of Beacon were quiet. The hastily assembled barricades came into view. Rows of cars had been tipped onto their sides across the entire width of the streets. By themselves they would have proved poor protection, but someone with a strong affinity for Dustcraft had used the cars as foundations and created a rampart of stone almost twelve feet high across the entire road in a pale imitation of Vale's own wall.

Weiss ignored the people standing on top of the fortification next to the parapet. There were a few members of the Atlesian military, but most wore civilian clothes and held their weapons uncertainly. As nervous as they looked, it was just as well none brought their assorted weapons to bear on the two girls approaching, lest a shaking finger be responsible for an unintentional discharge.

At the sight of the two huntresses, a ladder was lowered to the ground by some of the soldiers. Ruby could have used Crescent Rose to quickly leap the wall—that was of course if she had ammo, which she didn't and if her muscles weren't aching with fatigue, which they were. At this moment, a ladder sounded like an awfully good idea.

Weiss had other ones. A dozen or more glyphs sprang into existence, overlapping with each like stairs. Without breaking stride Weiss stepped onto them and, with a slightly unusual gait caused by the larger than average difference in height between each one, began ascending.

Trailing behind her as always, Ruby hesitated to step onto the first. It wasn't that she was unsure if it would take her weight, they always had, she was just unsure if they would vanish after Weiss stepped off them. Still, ascending stairs was a lot easier than climbing a ladder.

Thankfully they didn't disappear after Weiss stepped onto the wall. The questions those on top were about to ask about the state of the city died as she neared them. Illuminated from below in ethereal light, her face was cast in shadows, and dressed in white that had been drenched scarlet, the conscripted soldiers tried their best to not draw her attention. More glowing platforms appeared on the other side of the wall and Weiss used them to descend.

Ruby had no clue why Weiss was draining what must have been her already sore body in this show of prowess. Perhaps it was simply so they wouldn't have to gather around the bottom of the ladder while one of them climbed. This way ensured that Ruby could stay behind her.

Past the barricade, the streets nearest Beacons own decorative wall bustled with activity. People carrying crates of ammunition or supplies ran back and forth, officers shouted orders corralling those who hadn't passed basic training into being useful, getting them up from where they had slumped on the floor and moving.

There were more people than they had seen in hours. It was as busy as any street in Vale would have been on a normal day. And none of it touched Weiss. She strode forward and something in her body language made others steer clear of her. Even a young looking lieutenant who had tried to stop her blanched when arctic blue eyes turned on him.

This was the effect that a Schnee could have on people when they wanted to. At the moment Weiss didn't desire to engage with anyone. Looking straight ahead, she dared anyone to approach and, in the streets full of people, no one was willing to.

Until someone was. Professor Port's large frame blocking her way finally forced Weiss to halt her irrepressible stride.

"Weiss, Ruby it's great to see you," Port boomed out. "We'd had reports that you'd been sighted several times but that you were so inte ̶ "

"Excuse me." Weiss' cool voice cut across her teacher's. She stepped around him, and strode off without another word.

Professor Port watched her before addressing Ruby softly.

"My girl… I'm not sure what exactly happened out there apart from it was awful, and she is obviously hurting. You need to be there for her now more than ever. It's your duty as her partner, and most of all as her friend."

Ruby nodded before chasing after Weiss' rapidly diminishing form. Weiss was moving quickly but it didn't look as though she had any particular destination in mind. Rather than head straight to the main building, she began walking around the grounds.

The expansive, well-tended lawns of Beacon were covered in people. Thousands and thousands of people. Stretching in every direction as far as Ruby could see. Sitting almost shoulder to shoulder, the civilians formed a sea.

It was lucky the weather in Vale at this time of year was mild and there was no chance of rain. Even filling every single room in Beacon to maximum capacity, only the smallest percentage would have had shelter. Attempts to count them quickly failed. All Ruby knew was that there were more people in her immediate view than she had ever seen in one place before. Even a packed stadium couldn't compare. That only contained a small percentage of the population of Vale. Sitting on the grass all around her must have been most of it.

There were people of all types from the lowliest Faunus in fourth hand clothes, to businessmen in thousand lien suits. Some looked immaculate, obviously having been in a safe area when it had first happened and then having not encountered any trouble when they were escorted to Beacon. Others were covered in blood and grime, sitting alone or leant up against others, tears streaming down their faces. Ruby averted her gaze. It was better not to think about that.

Volunteers directed any new arrivals, handed out whatever limited supplies Beacon had in storage or those which had been commandeered, collected empty water bottles to be refilled or dealt with any serious problems. In any scenario, there would always be helpers.

Weiss' frosty body language ensured than none of them approached. Ruby continued to trail after her, trying desperately to come up with a way to apologise.

Not concentrating on where her feet were landing, Ruby walked straight into the back of Weiss who’d halted in the centre of the path. Knocked off balance and stumbling, any annoyed words died on her lips after Ruby caught sight of Weiss' face.

The normally pale features were entirely devoid of any blood, her mouth was hanging slightly open. She stared with wide eyes into the distance. Ruby followed her gaze.

_No…_

_No…_

_It can't be…_

At the end of Weiss' line of sight were JNPR, sans one member.

_No…_

Slumped against Beacon's outer wall, Nora cradled Pyrrha's trembling form, whilst Ren comforted the pair of them. Pyrrha was drenched in blood. It covered almost every part of her they could see, her chest plate was rent open and sundered. All three of them were crying.

_No, it couldn't mean that. It just couldn't._

The normally stoic Ren looked up, and with tear filled eyes shook his head. The meaning of the gesture was clear.

_No, Jaune couldn't be gone. He just… he would… no… no…_

Air rushed in and out of Ruby's lungs as the truth slammed into her. Jaune was gone, and somewhere she knew it. But just like so long ago, just like so many times today, Ruby didn't want to face the truth.

As illogical as it was, if she didn't acknowledge it, if she ignored it, then it didn't happen. Jaune would walk up to them at any moment. All the people who had died today would spend time with their families. And her mum would come home from her mission and tuck her into bed.

The girl who’d lost her mum had never found a way to cope with the hole the loss had carved in her chest. She had never said goodbye. Never properly mourned. Never accepted it. Never moved on.

Instead her father's negligence, and her sister's good, but misguided intentions, had allowed her to wallow in the conceited misapprehension that she’d created for herself.

Nothing could be allowed to challenge the sanctity of her manufactured world. Not her sister's pained explanations of why their mum wasn't coming home. Not her father's shouts. And not any of the terrible things she saw on the news.

In her bed, curled under her blankets, breathing in the smell of the cloak that her mother had given her, she knew it had all been a lie. No terrible things could happen when her mum was out there to protect everyone. That's what huntresses did, and her mum was the best. It was just a lie. Mum was coming home. She was just busy. There were so many people to help and anyway, she had to come home to collect her cape. That was why she had given it to Ruby. To hold onto until she needed it again. As long as she kept it near her, then her mum would be able to find her again.

And if she became a huntress too, if she could go out there and help people, then it meant mum wouldn't have to do all the work, and she could come home sooner. And every time that she failed to help someone. Every time she saw someone fall. That would mean that she failed, and maybe, just maybe, her mum had failed too.

And wasn't coming home.

So she didn't fail. People didn't fall, didn't die. They were just _hurt_. They would get better, and she was a good huntress, just like her mum. The _hurt_ people, she shoved deep down inside of herself. Into the places that she didn't wander, didn't ever think of.

As long as they remained buried, she could rise to meet the day with a smile on her face.

The coping mechanisms of a woefully damaged girl.

But life is nothing but a series of desperate struggles. This day had pushed her manufactured world to the limit. There was only so much space inside of her, space for the dead, and it was full. She’d seen too many corpses. Too many people who she had failed. She was overflowing. Her partner had unwittingly added to her strife, perhaps more so than any other, and it had strained and stretched the membrane which separated her from reality.

But this, for the second time in her short life the loss of someone so close to her, someone who took up such a large part of her already, threw her over the edge. She tried to push it down, push him down, but Jaune was just too big, too full of life, of compassion, of comradeship, of friendship, and there was no room.

He defied her attempts. He made her confront loss. As a girl she’d been too young, too immature. Now she wasn't. She knew what had vanished from her life, and she broke.

The terrible well erupted inside of her. Everything she’d tried so hard to ignore, she was forced to face. People had died around her. People who were relying on her. Jaune had died somewhere in Vale, and he was gone. And if others had died, it meant the foundation of her entire alternate existence came crashing down.

Summer died anew.

Tears burst from silver eyes as her heart squirmed and twisted in her breast. Tormented by agony that had been supressed and condensed ever since that fateful day so along, she reached for one of the only things that could bring her the slightest bit of solace.

Sobbing uncontrollably, she buried her face against Weiss' collarbone and clutched her tight. Tight enough for the muscles to protest, but still she wouldn't let go. Slender arms hesitated, before wrapping themselves around her shoulders, cocooning her in their embrace.

Ruby wept against the bare skin of Weiss' chest for everything she had lost. The people she had seen. For Jaune. For Summer. And for the girl she was holding onto like her life depended on it. The one she’d come so close to losing.

Time slowed to a crawl… it sped by at a sprint… Ruby couldn't tell. All she knew was that after some undefinable quantity of time, her body ran out of tears, out of strength. It was only Weiss' that kept her upright.

Her partner gently lowered her onto the grass next to the path before kneeling in front of her. Weiss' eyes were bloodshot, and her own cheeks soaked.

Ruby looked at her partner, one who was struggling as much as she was, but was still there for her. In between gasps, she tried to choke out an apology.

"Weiss, I'm sor ̶ ̶ "

A solitary finger on her lips stopped her. Weiss shook her head with a sad smile before sitting next to Ruby and leaning her head on her shoulder. An apology is only wind in the air. It is the sentiment that matters. Between two people as entwined as they were, words just weren't needed.

They leant into each other, silently but collectively attempting to come to terms with the terrible consequences of the day. Individually two people as troubled and broken as they were wouldn't have been strong enough, but together they were.

When they felt their strength return, they rose and left JNPR to their private grieving. They’d lost their leader, their teammate, their friend, they would need more time alone to come to terms with what was no longer present in their lives.

Ruby walked beside Weiss, not behind her as she had for so much of the day. As they passed uncountable people spread on the grass and saw more and more students, the other members of their own team were at the forefront of her mind.

It had been hours since they had last seen each other and before the events in that apartment any attempt to get into contact with them had been fruitless, the lack of reception prohibited it. Of course afterwards the thought of contacting the rest of her team hadn't crossed her mind. Guilt and worry racked her, competing with her absolute sorrow.

Finally hours after she should have, she pulled out her scroll. This close to the cell transmitter in Beacon that was meant to provide coverage for hundreds of students, dozens of missed calls flashed up. Almost all from Yang, firstly sporadic, and then for the last few hours every twenty minutes exactly.

Knowing her sister was alright didn't get rid of the pain, not by a long shot. At the moment Ruby didn't know if she would ever recover, but it helped. At least a small bit. Ruby called her sister. She had barely managed to get out that they were unhurt and near Beacon's main building before Yang hung up.

In a charging wave of yellow, her sister rounded a corner and crashed into her. They almost fell over in a tangle of legs and her ribs creaked under the force Yang's arms were exerting on them. Yang pressed Ruby's head into her chest, and held on with the appearance that she was never going to let go of again.

Weiss, perhaps fearing for her partner's wellbeing, tried to pry them apart. An arm pulled her into the embrace as well. Against Yang's frantic strength both of them were helpless. Neither could get enough leverage to break out of the hold and instead were squeezed together.

The warmth radiating from Yang soaked through them, seeping into the sore muscles they weren't even aware of. Lost in that heat, Ruby was transported back to her childhood and how Yang had always been there to comfort her. Temporarily it almost made her forget everything that had happened. It was just her and Yang and Weiss and Bla ̶ ̶

_Wait, where was Blake?_

Ruby managed to extract her head from Yang's cleavage just enough to look around. There was a distinct absence of the black haired girl. With how Yang was acting, clutching onto her like her life depended on it, Ruby feared the worst.

"Yang, where's Blake?"

Weiss' head snapped round at Ruby's words searching for their teammate. Yang finally released the pair of them from the crushing embrace.

A wide care free smile appeared on Yang's face as spoke in an upbeat voice. "Don't worry she's fine, she just had to do something. She'll back any moment now."

Yang continued to grin as she pulled Ruby back in for another hug. It was only Weiss standing slightly to the side who realised that the blonde wasn't telling her teammates the entire truth. With Ruby's head pressed into her body again the expression had turned into a strained rictus caricature of a real smile and Yang's eyes crinkled with the effort of maintaining it.

All their scrolls going off again saved Yang from any explanation Weiss might have demanded. Like last time, their custom user interfaces had been replaced with monochromatic text as Ozpin utilised what must have been an emergency feature programmed into all of them.

_All officers, team leaders, and hunters not actively deployed on defensive duties are required to report to the main auditorium for a briefing which will begin at 2100 hours._

_All combat personnel who have not been summoned are required to report to their respective defensive positions detailed on the second page of this document by 2200 hours._

_Ozpin_

_Commander in Chief of Vale and Headmaster of Beacon Academy_

The second page contained a detailed a black and white map of Beacon and the area of Vale immediately surrounding it. Marked on it were the locations where the defensive wall had been established, as well as who should be defending what area.

The largest concentration of defenders were situated towards the middle where a number of major roads ran into Beacon. The strongest troops had been assigned to that location. The majority of the Beacon staff, CFVY ̶ ̶ Beacon's strongest team ̶ ̶ most of the fourth years, and a large number of Atlesian troops and Paladins.

But winding round all of Beacon's entrances, the entire front was almost two and half miles long. The rest of this expanse also needed protection. RWBY themselves had been given the task of defending the road that led up to the north gates of Beacon.

In stark black and white the total numbers of the defenders—those who all the tens of thousands of terrified civilians huddled inside the supposed sanctuary of Beacon were relying on—had been laid out. And to most, it was not a pretty sight. Though their numbers had been dramatically increased by the conscription, Ruby was still dreadfully concerned. If her doubts of the skills of the majority of the students had been proven correct, could the conscripts even hope to stand against the Knights or the Grimm should they attack in force? She knew the answer to that. They all did.

Still they had been given orders. The briefing she had to attend was in twenty minutes, and the rest of her team had to get to their positions. Now she thought about it, they should probably get something to eat beforehand.

"Right, do you all understand what you need to be doing?" Her teammates nodded, the message was extremely clear. "Good, I want you two to head over to the position and see what it looks like, but first you both look like you need something to eat."

Now Yang had released her ̶ ̶ after what felt like breaking most of her ribs ̶ ̶ and with a bit of space between all three of them Ruby could actually look at her teammates. Both were a mess. Now that Weiss had dropped the act she had retreated into for the last few hours, her normally perfect posture had drooped. She hugged herself slightly, a miserable expression on her face. Yang looked even worse, her clothes were torn and there were numerous bruises that blossomed on every expanse of skin that was observable. It needed no imagination to know Yang had put herself in the way time and time again to defend others.

And of course there the hole where Blake should have been. Still Yang had said she was ok. Her sister wouldn't lie to her.

Deeper into Beacon, it was slightly quieter, but only slightly. Soldiers, conscripts, and hunters still bustled around all performing their assigned tasks. They’d almost reached the cafeteria when they froze.

Winter had appeared around a corner ahead of them. Unlike everybody else in sight, she bore no traces of having been combat. Her makeup and hair were done immaculately. Her clothes pristine white and unsoiled. Though her very full figure did seem to want to burst from the white faux leather dress, with black edging and buttons that were struggling to contain it.

 _The dress was familiar_. It was then Ruby realised that Winter was wearing an exact replica of one of Weiss' favourite outfits. Although judging by how it didn't seem to be perfectly tailored, it was likely actually Weiss' and she’d stolen it.

Thankfully Winter was too busy typing rapidly on her scroll to notice them. Unfortunately, Erashan had. He also looked much fresher than almost everyone else, though at least some fluid had marked his dark suit. Winter started at his quiet word and looked at her bodyguard, before following his gaze.

Upon seeing the group, Winter's step faltered momentarily. Her scroll was forgotten and she absentmindedly held out behind her before stalking up to them.

Ruby grimaced. Winter looked furious and was undoubtedly going to shout at Weiss, for some ridiculous reason or another. Almost entirely emotionally worn out, Winter's presence had failed to entirely confound her as it had previously. Ruby decided that on this occasion, there was absolutely no place for any of Winter's stupidity.

Preparing herself to match Winter's words, she was caught entirely unprepared when Winter stepped past her without speaking and gathered Weiss in an embrace as intense as any Yang could have given. Winter clutched at her twin, one hand on the back of her head, face buried in Weiss' hair.

Weiss was still, entirely unsure what was happening, while Winter just held on, breathing in Weiss' scent. After a few lingering seconds, she spoke softly into her sister's ear.

"Don't you ever dare do that to me again."

Winter squeezed Weiss once more, before releasing her twin and promptly strode off without another word. Erashan shadowed her with a smile on his face.

Weiss still hadn't moved. Standing immobile, her eyes were wide as they followed the retreating form of her sister. Ruby had been stunned into silence as well, unable to process what she had just witnessed.

Weiss tried to speak, her mouth opening and closing several times without sound before she finally admitted defeat. Instead she just shook her head slightly and shrugged.

After ensuring that her teammates were going to eat, Ruby grabbed a couple of cereal and chocolate bars before jogging off towards the auditorium.

With a few minutes till the start, it was packed… and it was empty. Though there were over hundred people in there, too many wore military uniforms. As she ran her gaze over those sitting, too many who should have, hadn't claimed their seats

Jaune… her heart constricted in her chest, the stoic Ren sitting staring sightlessly into the distance, CRDL was absent, Coco was there, but Sun was missing along with anyone else from his team. Ruby almost threw up as she ran an internal register through her head and it came up awfully short of the numbers it should have.

With her newfound understanding of loss, she knew the truth of why her friends or classmates weren't here. And it hurt. It tore through her, ripping along her nerves. But at the same time, Ruby was burnt out. What was another death on top of everything else? At the moment they were all blending together into a myriad of anguish.

Collapsing down onto the empty seat next to Ren, Ruby felt entirely drained. This day was just too much for her to handle. Ren had turned his head toward the disturbance at his side and when he saw it was Ruby neither of them spoke.

Gently she placed a chocolate bar on the desk in front of him. He took it and nodded his thanks. Words couldn't convey the feelings they each harboured and so they didn't bother. With their thighs touching slightly, both looked at the lectern as they ate.

Normally with this many people gathered together in an enclosed space there would have been raucous noise, but no one was in the mood. The few quiet conversations created a sombre atmosphere as most stared forwards, haunted images flickering behind their eyes as in their brief moment of rest, their brains tried to process everything they had seen today.

Ozpin strode in. For someone in complete control of the entire country, there should have been a fanfare, a herald announcing him, but there was none of that. At a glance most would not have seen the difference between Ozpin the Headmaster and Ozpin the Commander. He gave off the air of being approachable as always, only the slightest tension in his jaw hinted at some powerful emotion coiling just beneath the surface.

Following him into the room was Professor Goodwitch, his steadfast companion through almost everything. Though she was doing worse at concealing her feelings than Ozpin was. Beneath her glasses, her eyes were red rimmed. A number of the more senior officers from the Atlesian military as well as Winter Schnee followed. All of them settled down in the seats right at the front that had been reserved for them.

The few hushed conversations as the clack of Ozpin's cane bounced off the hard wood walls. All eyes followed his slow progress to the lectern. He turned on his audience, looking over his glasses. Meeting all of their gazes in turn.

When he met Ruby's bloodshot eyes, he nodded slightly, and from that nod Ruby felt at least a tiny portion of his implacable strength flow into her. Despite everything, they were still here.

Finishing with his inspection, Ozpin waited silently for long enough for some to start looking around before he spoke in a clear, carrying voice.

"Thank you all for coming. You are all commanders, be it of your unit or team. It is important that you have a complete understanding of our current situation so you can pass that along to those who serve under you. If there are any questions, I ask that you wait until the end.

"Now first I invite Lieutenant General Calder to detail the current situation in Vale."

Ozpin exchange a nod with the man who rose, stepped off the stage, taking the seat next to Professor Goodwitch. The officer approached the lectern with a sure step that spoke of years of service. He was perhaps slimmer than one might have expected his long limbs looking disproportionate in comparison. His frame barely filled the combat uniform, the wide shoulder pads hanging limp. It wasn't hard to imagine that he was more used to planning and organising than fighting. Still from the looks around the room his men respected him.

"Thank you." His voice was deep, dragged over rocks, but it was firm. "As General Ironwood is M.I.A presumed K.I.A, along with all hands that were on board the Deliverance, I am the highest ranking military officer in Vale and have been given command of all of Vale's defences by the Commander in Chief of Vale. I have spent the last several hours collating and referencing scout reports in order to get the clearest picture of what is happening in the city."

At a gesture a map of Vale came into existence behind him. It was a photo that had been taken from a high altitude, though it was from before this morning. Important information and other more recent photos had been superimposed over key locations such as the Deliverance's crash site and the breach in the wall.

"I will start with what we know for definite, the composition of our defensive forces. Under my command I have three hundred and fifty six effective members of the Atlesian military, as well as eighty seven walking wounded, sixty three professional hunters, one hundred and ninety eight students, and one thousand seven hundred and forty two conscripts of varying quality. There are also thirty eight Paladins still functioning, although no aircraft are available for combat. This may sound like a significant force, it is not.

"Enemy numbers are more difficult to establish. There have been numerous conflicting reports and, without air surveillance, I have been unable to get an accurate count. Still there are some things that we do know. This morning there were four thousand six hundred Knights deployed on the streets of Vale, all of which were compromised, and our attempts to regain control have proved fruitless. Along with that, there are a further nine thousand four hundred in storage on board the Deliverance. The ship is largely intact and it is not impossible that they are able to be salvaged. All scouting missions to ascertain their state have been repelled by large numbers of Knights."

"Coupled with this, when the Deliverance crashed it caused a large section of the perimeter wall to collapse as can be seen here." He gestured and the map zoomed in on the area. "Since that time, a large number of Grimm have entered the city. The Knights in the area have not only failed to engage them, but are actively working to widen the breach. It is estimated that there may be as many as three hundred Grimm inside the city, with more entering at every passing moment. The only bright side on that front is that Vale's automated air defence systems are still active, and consequently we do not need to be concerned with Nevermores bypassing out defensive line.

"The final group of enemies we are facing are the ones we believe are responsible for orchestrating the attack. There have been numerous confirmed reports that the White Fang and the Knights are working in concert."

A few of the people in the audience like Ruby who up to that point hadn't been aware of the presence of the White Fang murmured in shock. Lieutenant General Calder cut over the conversations.

"The White Fang have also managed to acquire a large number of Paladins. In total we estimate there may be as many as one hundred and fifty Paladins, and perhaps eight hundred or more White Fang members, but those numbers are vague.

"Together with the Knights, the White Fang have manage to seize around a third of Vale.” The map zoomed back out and a large area was highlighted in red. "The entire south western corner of Vale has fallen under their control, including most of the industrial and agricultural districts where we believe they were concealing their mechs. There is still sporadic resistance inside the area, but any attempts to retake the districts has been met with extreme resistance and were unsuccessful.

"Lastly, the CCT had been taken out of commission and is now under full control of the Knights. One of the remaining Bullheads has been dispatched to Atlas, but it is unlikely that any relief force will arrive in less than two weeks.

"That is two weeks too many. It is likely that the White Fang are allowing Grimm to enter the city knowing that most will head towards the largest source of negative emotions. They will come here, drawn by the tens of thousands of terrified civilians huddled in the grounds. We will spend the entire two weeks under constant attack, day and night, until our numbers are whittled away and the White Fang can mop up the few defenders left alive.

"That is the truth of the military situation within Vale. We are outnumbered, and we are outgunned. The only advantage strategic advantage we have is Beacon is defensible, even if the temporary walls are not strong. But I do not believe in lying to those under my command. If the enemy array their full force against us, we will not be able to hold. But we will make them pay for every single step they take."

Ozpin stood. "Thank you Lieutenant General Calder. You are now aware of the forces that are arranged against us. I now invite Ms. Schnee to detail the civilian situation." Winter took to the stage.

In a room full of the military and grim faced hunters she stood out. With her heels clicking on the hard wood and smooth bare legs, she was not only the most feminine person in the room, but in a room full of officers, her natural authority eclipsed them all. Only Ozpin held any candle to it.

"Thank you," she dipped her head gracefully towards Ozpin. "The evacuation of civilians to Vale has been largely successful. Within the grounds, at the last count, there were sixty two thousand civilians with more trickling in escorted by the final extraction teams. It is estimated that there are perhaps twenty to twenty five thousand trapped within White Fang held territory or deceased." Winter's voice was cold and logical as she detailed how many were not held in this microcosm of imaginary safety.

"Around two thousand are in a serious condition, and are being treated as best as possible by anyone with medical training.

"The supply situation is not good. We are almost out of the medical supplies for the civilian population, though I have set a quantity aside to allow for vital combatants to be treated. It is entirely irrelevant that we cannot expect a relief force for at least two weeks, as we will run out of food within three days. That is already after putting everyone who can be on half rations. Water is the only area where we have sufficient quantities. As long as the reservoirs under Beacon remain safe to drink, the only limit is how fast it can be pumped up."

"In conclusion, though we have rescued a large proportion of the population of Vale and those who were visiting, it has only proved detrimental to the supply situation. We will only have two options: either the defenders will collapse due to lack of nutrition, or we will have to decide which civilians can be sacrificed for the greater good." Winter let that statement hang in the air as she returned to her seat.

Few in attendance had realised just how grim the situation at Beacon really was. They’d thought having evacuated so many civilians to Beacon through firefights, the hard part was over. Now after the dire speeches from first Calder and then Winter, they were beginning to realise they were barely in a better situation than they had been this morning. Maybe even worse as they had all been herded together to provide one succulent buffet for the Grimm.

The ones who had been speaking quietly before the presentation had started were now deathly quiet as Ozpin once more approached the lectern.

"Thank you Ms. Schnee." He said no more. He just waited, looking at every person in the room. In the absence of words, the tension cranked up. This man had declared himself the ruler of Vale and he did not rule. He just stood waiting.

Three words punctuated the pregnant silence.

"Vale has fallen."

Words so significant should have been screamed from the rooftops, shouted out into the night, but instead they were soft and they hit all the harder because of it.

Everyone knew how bad the situation was in Vale, but to hear the person they had all been relying on to say that shocked them. If Ozpin believed Vale lost, who were they to argue with him? And what possible hope did they have to get out of this alive?

"Vale has fallen. The forces arranged against us are too great. Against any one of the opposing armies we would have stood a chance, we could have counter attacked and retaken the city, but against all three any assault would be suicidal.

"I am looking at you and I see shock. I see fear. I see despair. They are all understandable emotions in this scenario." His voice became harder, his eyes drilling into his audience. The emotion he had been hiding since the start beginning to spill out. "The one thing I fail to see on your faces, the one thing you should be feeling above all others, is anger.

"The White Fang has come to Vale and they have slaughtered thousands. They have killed your friends. They have captured the city you have sworn to protect. And I ask you, where is the righteous anger that has kept the Grimm at bay since the very first civilizations were founded? You are all soldiers, and yet what have you done to protect the ones you love? You should not be accepting that Vale has fallen with such impotent emotions.”

Ozpin no longer sounded like the headmaster Ruby had known, in all the speeches he had given since the start of the year she had never heard him as impassioned as he was now. Gone was the academic. In front of them now stood a general addressing his troops. Few doubted that he had done it numerous times before.

"Anger is a weapon. It can cut deeper than the sharpest blade. You must think of those responsible for everything horrific thing you have witnessed today, and you are the only ones who can stop them.

"I said the city of Vale had fallen, but a city is just buildings. Vale is in the hearts of its people. And they have not fallen. They sit all around us, crying, weeping, praying for something to come and save them. Well… you are it. You shall save them.

"We cannot hold our position at Beacon. The White Fang expect us to allow the Grimm to deplete our ranks before they step over our corpses and kill those we protect. We will not let that happen. The Grimm will not deplete our ranks, because we will not be here.

"They expect they have two weeks to slaughter us all, whereas in reality they have less than a day. When they finally gain access to Beacon, they will find it deserted, the civilians and all its defenders gone. I can see you thinking how? How will an entire city's population vanish?

"It's quite simple. We will not play by their rules. We will not play their game. Currently flying towards us from locations all over Vale are seventeen Schnee Dust Company air freighters. They have dumped their precious cargo to pick up a far more valuable one. Tomorrow morning, the first will arrive. The cargo hold will be able to transport over four thousand people to safety. And so will every single one after that. They are our salvation. And then after the people of Vale are safe, we will return to the city and take back that which is rightfully ours.

"But the White Fang will not let us escape so easily. At some point they will spot the freighters, and then they will attack. With their full force. Lieutenant General Calder said we will not hold. He is wrong.

"You will hold. Because if you do not, then everyone who is relying on you will die. Because of you. Manning your positions you will be facing Knights. You will be facing Grimm. You will be facing Paladins. And you will be facing Faunus. Your bowels may loosen in terror as they run in an unending wave towards you. Your limbs may feel weak. You may regret a thousand you have not done in your life. But. You. Will. Not. Fall!

"You know what is at stake. For thousands of years, your ancestors fought against the insatiable hunger of the Grimm armed with only wooden spears. Did they fall? No. They held the line. For thousands of years your ancestors have fought those who would destroy their way of life, destroy everything they had worked so hard to build. Did they cower as their enemies ran towards them? No. They held the line.

"We are not our ancestors, but their blood flows through our veins. Now, in this moment, we are fighting for so much more than them. So when your death is rushing towards you, and you wish to take a backwards step, think about who you would be stepping on, and stand firm. We are not our ancestors.

"But in this battle, we will hold the line!"

 


	15. Chapter 15

Yang stared out the window down the road. She was meant to be sleeping, but that wasn't going to happen. Not while Blake was still out there.

Trying to explain to her teammates that she’d let Blake go off into the city by herself had been awful. Sure, the looks on their faces had been sympathetic. They’d said they understood, but underneath they must have thought she was a coward. She certainly felt like one.

Looking back, it was unthinkable that she had let Blake talk her around. It had been idiotic. Yang knew she should have gone with her, tailed her if Blake hadn't allowed it. And maybe if she had, Blake would have been able to keep her promise. A solitary tear rolled down her face.

After coming back and receiving Yang's explanation, Ruby had told her teammates of the plan to evacuate the civilians. Her sister had then ordered all the stronger fighters under her command, the professional soldiers and the rest of her team to rest, while the conscripts manned the wall through the night.

Like Yang could rest. The bedroom of the house overlooking the wall was nothing more than a prison. She should be out there, searching. Instead she’d been ordered into the shower and when Yang declined, in one of her more authoritative moments Ruby had threatened to forcefully strip her sister if that was what it took.

Yang had to admit that the hot water had helped ease the pain of the many wounds and strains. With fresh clothes and her hair returned to its soft state, she did feel slightly better. But the shower didn't alleviate the great weight from her shoulders.

With darkness falling the lights on the wall were turned on. Scavenged from cars they weren't as effective as purpose-built spotlights but they did illuminate the road for scores of feet. Usually it would have been better to have no lights and instead allow the defender's night vision to penetrate the darkness. But not against Faunus.

Getting back to Beacon and finding no one that had seen Ruby or Weiss had been horrific. Her imagination had leapt at the opportunity to create pictures of her sister lying on the floor covered in blood, reaching out for her sister who would never come. It had almost been enough for her to run straight back into Vale and she may very well have done, if Professor Oobleck hadn't seen her stumble on her feet and then escorted her to the cafeteria to get something to eat.

When Ruby had called her, her body had almost seized up with relief. Only in the agony of enforced separation did absolute need become apparent. And Yang needed her sister. And her friends. They defined her as a person.

At Ruby's question about where Blake was, Yang had fallen back on old habits. It hadn't been her intention to treat Ruby like a child. It had just happened. It hadn't really been a lie. Just not the full truth. If it saved Ruby from worrying, it was worth it.

A shout from the wall drew her from her reminiscence. The conscripts peeked over the top and aimed into the darkness. A figure was holding their position just at the edge of the light. A figure with a bow on their head.

Yang didn't bother with the stairs. She leapt straight out the window, rolling on her shoulder to absorb the fall.

"Hold your fire!" Yang bounded up to the top of the wall just as Blake limped into the pool of light.

Once again Yang didn't bother with any method of descent apart from falling. She rushed up to Blake. In a torrent of relief she attempted to squeeze the life from her.

Blake hissed, air rushing from between her teeth. She struggled weakly to escape the embrace. Arms flinging open in shock at the hostile reaction, Yang looked at her. If possible she felt even more guilt. Blake was a mess. Her clothes hung off her in pieces and were drenched in blood. Her face was twisted in a snarl and she pressed a hand up against her ribs.

Blake swayed on her feet. But as amber eyes met lilac, Blake's expression changed from hostility to relief, and a smile lit up her features. Then her legs gave way.

Yang just managed to stop her head hitting the road, catching it, and grunting at having to provide support for the rest of Blake's bodyweight. Blake stared up at her with an unfocused grin.

"I kept my promise," she said in a lilting tone.

"Yes, you did." Blake's behaviour was concerning Yang more than she wanted to admit, but as Ruby and Weiss arrived by her side she recognised that the middle of the killing ground wasn't the best place to contemplate it. Scooping Blake into her arms, she headed back to the wall.

The obstacle to the Grimm also proved an obstruction to her. With Blake in her arms a ladder was out of the question. A shimmering white staircase of glyphs proved the answer to her problem and, nodding to Weiss, Yang started up them.

The soldiers all wanted to know who it was she was carrying, but Yang ignored them. The other two to answered their questions. Yang just wanted to get Blake somewhere warm. Her skin was like ice, and she burrowed herself into Yang's chest.

In the house, Yang gently deposited her partner on the soft double bed. In the warmth and comfort of the room, Blake had lapsed into unconsciousness by the time Ruby and Weiss arrived.

"How is she?" Weiss asked softly so as to not disturb her.

Yang shook her head. In the harsh light from the bulb hanging overhead and contrasted against the cream coloured quilt, Blake looked worse than ever. Her face was gaunt, her eyes sunken. The holes in her clothes revealed numerous cuts underneath, and blood was beginning to stain the bedding. The worst was her breathing. In the relative quiet of the room it was haggard, rasping. Air being dragged against its will down her throat.

It seemed like it had taken all of her strength to make it back to Beacon before she’d finally surrendered to her body's desires. But still as bad as her injuries were, she was a huntress. As long as they could keep her stable, her Aura should be able to alleviate most of her hurts. It was just a case of whether they could do that best here, or if they risked sending her to the overworked medics back at Beacon.

"I don't know. She's bad, but it doesn't look like there's anything critical." Yang made a decision. "Ruby can you go and get a medical kit, and Weiss can you get a bowl of warm water and something to clean her with?"

Ruby disappeared in a shower of petals as Weiss nodded. With a course of action firmly settled on, Yang tried to work out what to do next. The first thing would be to clean her wounds but, with how dirty Blake's clothes were, most of them would probably have to come off. That gave Yang pause. Though it was necessary, it still felt wrong to strip someone as reserved as Blake was without her permission.

The medical kit appeared next to her as Ruby zipped back up, and moments later Weiss deposited a bowl of steaming water and some towels on the bedside table. They both hung around waiting for another order, but Yang had none to give. There wasn't much else they could do without getting in the way.

"Thanks." She caught Ruby yawning behind her hand. "We'll be fine here. You two need to get some rest. You'll need to be fresh for tomorrow." Weiss was about to object when Yang spoke again. "I'm not taking no for an answer. Go to one of the bedrooms and sleep."

The stern look that had always worked on Ruby, worked here as well. They both left after getting Yang to promise that she would call if she needed help. With that problem solved, Yang turned to her partner and tried to work out where to start.

The laces of Blake's boots were glued together with various liquids that had dried. After a few moments of impatient tugging at the knots, Yang gave up and used the scissors in the medical kit to slice through them. They were some of Blake's favourites, but Ruby had been thoughtful enough to bring clean shoes for everyone as well as clothes. Gently easing them off, Yang examined Blake's feet. They were pungent as was to be expected, but there didn't seem to be any injuries.

The bedding under Blake's thigh steadily turned scarlet as blood leaked from a wound on the back of her leg. That was problematic. It was probably the most pressing problem, but as Blake was on her back Yang couldn't minister to it. Judging by how Blake had grabbed her side after the hug, it was likely her ribs were injured as well. As gently as was possible Yang rolled Blake onto her right side ̶ ̶ the opposite of the one that had been held ̶ ̶ and the pitiful whimper Blake gave even in her unconsciousness tore into Yang.

Peering down to inspect the wound, it was worse than she’d feared. Blake's skin-tight leggings had been rent and pushed into the long tear, sticking to the vulnerable flesh inside. More blood trickled out of it and rolled down her thigh.

Taking up the scissors once more, Yang slipped them under the leggings at Blake's ankle and began cutting. It was hard going; the supple material had been hardened by the blood until it practically cracked every time she pressed down. Slowly peeling the material off her partner's skin, and wincing every time a scab resisted her pull, Blake's leg was bared until only the area immediately around the wound remained.

First Yang rewashed her hands and sterilised her tools with rubbing alcohol, before grimacing as she used surgical tongs to gently pry the fabric from where it had stuck to the inside of the jagged gash. It was precise and difficult work. Not helped by her partner's whines, despite the mild local anaesthetic that was all Yang had to give from the limited first aid kit. Yang ended up apologising to Blake before and after every movement.

Up close, with her tongue pressed between her lips, Yang had no idea how Blake had even contrived to walk with such a wound. It was an awful lot deeper than it had looked. That made Yang feel even guiltier than before. It wasn't a lethal wound but, without her partner there to support her, Blake must have had to struggle back in agony. Every movement opening any scabs that had formed, and knowing that if she fell, she would die.

Whatever had caused it seemed to be absent from the hole. After double checking nothing remained within, Yang pressed a piece of surgical gauze to wound and wrapped a piece of bandage around Blake's thigh to hold it in place temporarily. It would be necessary to come back and clean it later, but first it had to stop bleeding, and there were other injuries to deal with.

Quickly Yang cut off Blake's other legging. Without the copious amounts of dried blood it was easier, though it still stuck to numerous small scabs that burst open. Looking at the expanse of bloodied flesh, with dozens of small lacerations, Yang couldn't help but wonder what had caused it. It was as though her partner had been caught by a cloud of shrapnel from a grenade. With careful slices, Yang removed Blake's shorts. Finally being the matted leggings came completely free.

Keeping Blake on her side, Yang unbuttoned her top before slicing through the shoulder straps and cutting off her tank top. What was revealed dismayed her. Blake's chest and left side and right shoulder were covered in a gigantic bruise. The normally pale skin transitioning into a collage of mauves, yellows and greens. The centrepiece of the painting was the red around ribs that were undoubtedly at least fractured. The guilt kept building up as Yang remembered her partner's struggles in her embrace. How had she been so stupid?

Finally Yang moved to Blake's head. Compared to the rest of her, it was in good health. Although of course on a normal person, blood matted into hair would have been a major sign for concern.

Not finding any wounds on her scalp, Yang gently unwound the ribbon that Blake used to hide her ears. The bow had been tied so sloppily that it was barely recognisable as such. Before approaching their lines, Blake must have reapplied it the best she could through her pain. The ears that Blake did so much to hide, and that Yang so loved, twitched back and forth at their owner's distress.

Thankfully there was only a superficial cut that had matted the velvety soft fur. Stepping back Yang observed her partner. In her underwear, Blake looked so small and vulnerable. Nothing like the strong person that Yang knew. She was a ruin of the girl who set out this morning. The only defence against Yang’s rampaging guilt, was the blazing hot anger at the people who had done this to Blake.

Returning from the bathroom with a fresh bowl of clean warm water, Yang sat on the bed next to her partner. The grime on her skin was almost as distressing as the damage. Since the start of their time together at Beacon, Blake had always kept herself clean. She’d been meticulous about her clothes, her hair, her body. Perhaps not as meticulous as Weiss, but certainly a lot more than the other two of their team. Blake groomed herself a significant amount, always ensuring she was well turned out. But she wasn't now.

Dirt and blood had been ground into her skin, patterned where scarlet had flowed from the myriad of wounds. It was just so wrong. Carefully Yang moistened a soft cloth in the warm water, before lightly setting it to the sole of Blake's foot. It came away brown and grey. Not to be deterred. She rinsed it off before wiping again. Blake twitched slightly from the sensation, but didn't wake. With the sole clean of the fluids that had pooled in the bottom of her boot, Yang dried it with a soft towel before moving onto the other foot.

Slowly, gradually, Yang worked her way up Blake's legs. Cleaning the skin. At least partly returning it to its previous pale, unmarred state. The cloths Weiss had brought soon ran out. Yang ripped a spare bed sheet into squares so she could return to her loving task.

It helped. It helped her feel less like it was her fault. Helped her feel less guilty to be doing this thing, however minor, to assist her friend in returning to the person that had left their room this morning. By doing this, it was almost as if she could make up for abandoning Blake to her self-imposed, foolish task. It obviously couldn't, but it was a start.

Wherever she found a laceration that hadn't yet clotted, or one that broke open under the cloth, she cleaned it as gently as she was able, sometimes having to pick out shards of what seemed like stone, and then applied an antibiotic cream. In truth, infections weren't a big danger to hunters; their Auras were usually able to cope. But Blake, with such an extent of wounds and with her Aura already drained, was more at risk than usual. As an added benefit, the cream also contained a slight numbing agent. Yang would do anything to make Blake more comfortable.

The gauze and bandage covering the puncture wound was soaked through, and Yang un-wrapped it. Though it still looked bad, it had at least ceased leaking blood so copiously. The hole was large enough that it would need stitches. Hoping that the anaesthetic would still shield her partner from the worst of it, Yang took out the sterile suture kit and prepared.

Like all hunters, battlefield first aid was something that she had been taught, but practice on simulation flesh was far, far removed from performing surgery on your friend. The simulation flesh wasn't warm. It didn't quiver as the needle passed through it. And it didn't whimper at every suture. Yang drew the two flaps of the flesh together, until she was able to tie off the twine after the eleventh stitch. With any luck, it would heal without leaving a scar. After double checking her handiwork against the textbook images in her head, Yang reapplied a bandage.

With that out the way, she continued on her journey up Blake's body. The huge bruise required very gentle strokes of the cloth, lest Blake stir, and she avoided the area where the suspected fractures were.

It was only with Blake's hand in one of her own, when she was wiping her partner's knuckles, did she notice amber eyes staring at her. Yang froze, cloth dribbling water onto soft skin.

"Hey," she said very quietly, unsure what Blake was thinking having woken up to this situation.

A rasping sound answered.

"Hold on." Yang uncoiled her stiff legs and started towards the kitchen before stopping. On the table just inside the doorway, there was a tray with some food, two bottles of water, and most importantly a straw. Yang silently thanked whoever had brought it, even if the thoughtful gesture had gone entirely unnoticed with her concentrating on her task.

Blake's lips pursed around the straw before some precious liquid wetted the arid landscape of her mouth. After the silent signal that she'd had enough, Yang removed the bottle.

"Sorry if I was hurting you," Yang said.

Blake's whisper quiet voice replied. "No… it was… nice." She still sounded like she was having trouble breathing, but such a warm smile managed to grace her features. At the sight, Yang felt nearly as breathless as Blake was.

"Do you want me to stop?"

Blake shook her head, and weakly proffered her arm, Yang took it. With a warm cloth back in hand continued to bathe Blake's body. Yang had never done anything like this for anyone. The closest she could remember was a massage for an old boyfriend. But this was so much more.

In this state, with her body wracked with injuries, Blake must have been feeling extremely vulnerable. Yet she trusted Yang completely. Not only with her wounds, but with her relative nakedness. Yang's hands travelled over places they had never been before, and Blake didn't flinch or cower away. She just watched with half closed eyes, the tension gradually dissipating from her body, and the occasional sigh escaping from her.

Eventually Yang reached her face. She gently traced Blake's jawline with the cloth, dabbing the moisture away when her skin was clean. Free of the grime, with her shine renewed to Yang's eyes, Blake was undeniably beautiful. Not just because of her physical appearance, but because of her inner strength.

She’d believed in doing what was right so much that she’d been prepared to go up against the entire White Fang by herself. Though something terrible had happened, the fires of righteousness that burned in her eyes were still there. She would rise from this bed stronger than ever. But first Yang had to help her rise.

"Do you think you can roll onto you back?" Yang had managed to bathe all of her partner apart from the side she was lying on.

Blake nodded before rolling over. Her eyes tightened slightly, but no sound escaped her. It did however reveal that the quilt she’d been lying on was filthy, stained deep red and damp. It was impossible for her to sleep on that. Yang hated to ask this, but it had to be done.

"Do you think you can lift yourself up enough so I can pull the quilt out from under you?"

Yang almost laughed as Blake rediscovered enough strength to glare at her. Perhaps she was treating her partner a little too much like an invalid. Blake managed to prop herself up, only to then fall back exhausted onto the white sheets that were mercifully unblemished.

"I'll be right back."

Stopping in on the other two to share the good news about Blake's condition, Yang saw that only Weiss was awake as Ruby slept in the bed next to her. Her sister ̶ ̶ still fully clothed apart from her boots ̶ ̶ had curled into a ball and wrapped her cloak around herself. Ruby looked so peaceful sleeping like that, as she had many times in their troubled childhood, that old instincts took over. Before she could help herself, Yang had tucked her sister in a little more snuggly, and kissed her hair.

Returning to the room with a quilt filched from another bed, Yang saw Blake had passed out once more. Glad her friend was getting the rest she so deserved, Yang refilled her bowl of hot water before cleaning Blake's remaining side. Her partner didn't stir throughout it, and at last there was only her hair left to clean. That was more problematic; blood had leaked into it from the scratch on her ear and had matted her locks together. Yang resolved to do the best she could, hoping tomorrow Blake would be recovered enough to shower.

Gently she lowered the quilt onto Blake. It was for a smaller bed, but it was more than large enough for its purpose. Yang settled down cross-legged and lifted Blake's head off the mattress and into her lap. With great care, she sponged Blake's hair clean before turning to her ears.

It wasn't all that often that anyone got to see them; Blake kept them hidden most of the time. Despite most of their friends knowing about her heritage, she was still loathe to go without her bow, even in the privacy of their room. In her opinion, it was too risky that someone might stumble across her secret. Even when she slept, it usually stayed on.

It was so sad, not only that she felt it necessary to hide herself, but because they were so beautiful. Framed by her face they complimented Blake perfectly. After she’d shown them the first time, it was difficult to picture her without them. It was just something that completed her friend ̶ ̶ like someone being without the glasses they always wore. It was the same person, just not all there ̶ ̶ Blake was Blake when her ears were visible. Not when they were secreted away.

After hers and Ruby's many questions Blake had finally caved in and let the pair of them touch her ears. Yang had gone first but Blake, unused to the intimacy, had flinched and Yang had pulled away. Blake had regretted her action and re-invited them all to touch her, even Weiss, but she still hadn't looked all that comfortable. The mood had been contagious. Ruby and Weiss only made a show of touching Blake to allow her to feel as if she had fulfilled her side of the bargain. They’d never put Blake in that position again, knowing that she would be more open when she was ready.

But today Blake had opened herself up to Yang. It was with no small anticipation that she began cleaning the small scratch. The dark, supple fur was somehow softer than she remembered, but it quickly absorbed the moisture from the cloth. Not wanting for Blake to have to risk dealing with a cold on top of everything else off, she made sure to dab the wetness away.

The ears flickered at her ministrations and Yang felt herself smiling. They were just so adorable. With the wound clean and the fur clear of blood, Yang slid the bowl of water, the dirty cloth and the towel onto the bedside table before leaning back against the headboard, Blake's head still in her lap.

Her task was finished. It had probably taken hours of utmost concentration, but Blake was as clean and comfortable as Yang could make her. The cleansing had helped not only alleviate some of her guilt, but also soothe some of the rage she had felt upon seeing her partner again.

Yang was calmer, and in her tranquillity she could reflect on some of the things that had happened to her. Ruby walking away from her had been hard, but surprisingly watching Blake's silhouette disappear had been just as difficult. The same could be said for the sheer magnitude of relief that Yang had felt upon hearing her sister was alright, and seeing her partner was alive.

In the short time that they’d been together, just a couple of months at most, Blake had burrowed into her heart and carved a niche almost as big as Ruby's. Before today, she hadn't realised just how much she’d come to care about her partner. It was a different relationship to the one she shared with Ruby. Ruby was and would forever be her little sister. Yang was her guardian, her role model. Nothing would ever change that.

Blake was her equal. Blake didn't expect or need her to be the strong one all the time. She was more than happy to take up that role if it was required of her. Yang felt comfortable confessing things that she had never before dared utter to anyone. Things that made her feel weak. And Blake accepted that weakness as part of her, and loaned her strength in return for her trust.

The depth of her feelings towards her partner had to be more than just partnership. Unbidden, a thought came to her. Could it be _more_? In her time at Signal she had had a lot of relationships but she was by no means an expert. Could it be that?

Ever since that smile in the Emerald Forest on their initiation, Yang had known Blake was special. Was she _that_ special to her? The chilling grip of fear at the thought of losing her certainly suggested she was. But in romantic terms? Yang found herself unwittingly thrust into Weiss' shoes, only this time there was no one to dissect and confirm her feelings. It turned out it was an awful lot harder on _this_ side of the problem.

Without realising it, her hands had returned to Blake's ears. The fur was luxurious under her thumbs as she massaged them. It had always been something she had been so tempted to do, and her subconscious had submitted to her desires.

A purr escaped from Blake's chest, and a jolt of happiness seared through Yang. Even in the midst of the horror all around her, it was important to seize any moment of joy wherever it may be. Blake's reaction to her caressing her ears certainly counted as such a moment.

In her unconsciousness, Blake’s usually reserved and self-conscious attitude had withdrawn. With every circular motion her purr deepened, until it registered more within Yang's own chest than her ears. Then, slowly, Blake began to melt against her. Yang reached a decision.

Unlike Weiss, at least she had a good reason to procrastinate. By this time tomorrow, they would either be relatively safe, or they would be dead. Maybe she would just have to find Blake in the afterlife. She could wait a little longer.

Still playing absentmindedly with Blake's ears, Yang finally surrendered to the need for sleep that had been stalking her. Her last image being one of Blake with a look of utter contentment on her beautiful face.

* * *

 

Stars.

The million eyes of god looking down at its creation. The souls of great warriors, ready to return in a time of need. Giant balls of gas radiating energy into space, maybe even playing host to their own planets teeming with life.

Ozpin sighed. Or just lights in the sky. Immaterial. Ever since his childhood so long ago he had always wondered about the stars. What were they? Why were they there? The indefinable beauty had fascinated him. He’d seen one up close, or at least the priests had told him so. It was beautiful, but he’d never quite believed. His questions allowed him to forget his lonely duties on the hilltop, and escape into his imagination in pursuit of the unknown.

But above Vale, their beauty had been marred. Smoke drifted across the heavens, hiding the brilliance behind the pall that always appeared wherever mankind congregated. The smoke was such a fitting metaphor for everything he’d been fighting against his entire life.

No matter how many times he tried. How many different approaches he took. He always failed. Something would go wrong. Someone would want something greater for themselves. And they would climb over everything he had built to get it, heedless of his carefully constructed plans.

That was always it, one person was all it took. One person who felt that life hadn't dealt them a fair hand. One person who wasn't happy with their place in the world. With righteousness, they would rise up, seize the opportunity they spotted, and what he’d crafted would come crashing down.

And then the Pantheon would be forced to meet. They would dissect the path they had set everyone down and how, as it always invariably did, it had failed and brought them all so much closer to destruction. They would make notes, perform calculations, find divergence points, and eventually update the Model.

The Model. The perfect future he had seen in that singular moment of their ascendance. The one world out of the countless millions that had flashed through his mind where fear, hunger, cruelty, the Grimm, were non-existent. Where everyone could live in utter contentment. In that instant, he’d seen the path the world had taken to reach that utopia, every action, every decision, and he knew it was not an impossible dream, but something that could be realised.

When they’d regained consciousness, the miracle he’d witnessed still clung to his mind, but too much had been lost. The maddening pain had stolen so much from him that only slivers of that perfection remained. The Model they’d constructed had been incomplete and, though they had set the world on its path, too often they found its flaws.

A single errant decision would be all it took to split the world off into another one of the millions of other universes. Every time they failed, it was his fault. But after every failure, they would leave their meeting place and purge those who had erred. All so mankind could someday reach paradise.

Normally after failure he would be filled with energy, determined to guide everybody along their new path. But now, standing in his office overlooking the fires that were still consuming Vale, he didn't feel righteous. He didn't feel invigorated.

He felt tired. Oh, so tired. It was even worse than the last, and supposedly final, time he’d been forced to destroy that which he loved. Sitting in the ashes of their once fine dream they had to decide whether it was worth it. Whether the world needed them anymore. And whether they were always doomed to fail.

It was meant to have been perfect, the perfect plan, the simple soul they had been searching for. One without greed, without malice, without cruelty, without anger—the perfect candidate and, despite everything, it had failed. That had hurt them the most. That the one they had thought would finally achieve their goals, had turned into that. It had taken them longer to intervene and, in that time, their one failure had almost consumed the entire world.

So they’d made a pact. It hadn't been unanimous, but too many of them were just too tired of failure, of greed, of stupidity. They’d all agreed to step back and let the world leave them behind. The world that barely needed them anymore. No longer was mankind on the precipice of extinction. No longer were they the only ones preventing it from slipping over the edge. Maybe if they left the world alone, it would reach some pale imitation of the utopia they had tried so hard to craft. And that decision had come to this. Once again, he was responsible.

The door at his back slid open. He knew who it would be, only one person would have dared to enter his office without knocking first.

"Hello Glynda." He remained looking out the window, with his arms clasped behind his back. Her step hesitated almost imperceptibly, but _almost_ imperceptibly was blatant to one who had spent as long studying behaviour as he had.

"Sir." She had always been professional, almost to a fault. He supposed he was responsible for that, but getting close was just too painful. "The first freighter should be arriving in four hours."

He nodded, still looking at the ruins of his city. She hadn't made the long journey to the top of his tower just to tell him they were still on schedule.

"Another forty-six of the wounded have passed away."

There were always casualties in war. Though sadly most of them were the ones who didn't deserve it. The ones who were content with their life, and had no ideas above their station.

"Though Miss Belladonna has made it back to Beacon."

Some good news at last. She was a promising talent, though her absence had only magnified the doubts he harboured towards her. He would have to add a note to the files for Glynda.

"The Grimm have begun engaging the perimeter."

The Grimm, always the Grimm. Didn't people ever realise in a world that was actively trying to kill them, that their greed would give the cruel world the opportunity it so craved? He’d watched impotently as entire civilizations fell before them. Countries that were now no more than footnotes in textbooks. For so much of their existence, society had been but moments from extinction, and _still_ people played their selfish games.

Ozpin waited, observing his failure. Had his enforced inaction been as flawed as any previous error in one of their plans? Or was it because he hadn't been inactive enough? His name was recognised across the world. Many felt they owed him their loyalty, and he still regularly conversed with politicians and generals. Pushing. Nudging. Too often they would have made mistakes he’d seen a thousand times before.

The few of his old friends he still kept in touch with hadn't found solace in anonymity either. They weren't as well-known as he was, but they still pursued their own goals. Surely in their castles, their laboratories, they hadn't turned against him. Surely he would have derived such an action from their communications.

What about the others. The ones he didn't talk to. Who’d disappeared without trace? Were they dead, or did they still manipulate from the shadows? Perhaps they’d been happy to allow him to step into his senile dotage while they laughed at his foolishness. Did this bear hallmarks of their handiwork? It seemed like it did, but would they really have done this?

A hand grasped his forearm. "Sir?"

"Sorry, my mind drifted."

"I asked whether you wanted anything else." Glynda looked tired, although hers was borne of loss and heartache rather than continual failure like his.

But she still stood erect, strong. She would not flee before the oncoming storm, but face it down. Dare it to prove itself more powerful than her. In all the decades they had spent together, he’d watched her grow from a nervous student, unsure of her abilities, to a junior huntress, to the ̶ ̶ for all intents and purposes ̶ ̶ headmistress of the premier combat school on the planet.

Would even someone as noble as she be corrupted if they’d decided to elevate her to rule? Would she, with good intentions, cause uncountable hardships? Or was she the one they had always been searching for? The person that would have allowed them to take a step back with the knowledge that the world was safe in her stewardship?

It was good that it was no longer a decision he had to make, even if it was likely he would cause it by what he knew he must do.

"We need to talk about what happens after."

"I have already set about packing, and finding temporary accommodation for when we land in Atlas." Of course she had, the ever-resourceful Glynda. "Afterwards, I assume that you will be able to negotiate the civilian relocation to the various cities. With them spread out it should minimise the disruption caused by the refugees."

It was a good plan. Atlas was the one country in the world that would be able to support the refugees. But there was one thing that Glynda wasn't accounting for. One thing that she would likely have to.

"Yes, but we need to talk about the possibility that one of us does not make it to Atlas."

Glynda immediately picked up on the solemn message hidden in those words. Her mouth opened and closed once as she tried to come to terms with what he was implying. He knew that he’d been a fixture in her life for so long, ever since she had been a teenager. If he’d let it happen, he probably could have been an even larger part of it.

"One of us needs to lead in the days to come. You are the better person for that. You already run this academy, the students respect you. You have organised everything, while I’ve moped in my tower. The coming days and weeks will be the most pressing. Everyone will be against you, but I know you will stand firm. You are strong enough to do anything that you set your mind to, and you will do this."

"Why will I have to do it, sir? You are the headmaster, not me. Why would you not be there? What are you planning to do? Is this about whatever plan you have concocted to shield the withdrawal of the defenders? Whatever it is, let me do it. The people need you."

Glynda's voice had become heated as she had followed her thought path. Sacrifice and martyrdom. Two concepts that had always confounded him. When did one become the other? What was the requirement? Maybe he would find out.

"Why do you always call me sir?" In comparison his voice was soft, and the question at least distracted her from the fire raging behind her eyes.

"Because… because you are my superior and…" Ozpin looked over his glasses at her. Often silence asked the questions that were too difficult to voice. "And… I thought you made the limits of our professional relationship perfectly clear."

He remembered that too well, though Glynda had obviously misunderstood his reasoning. It was now the time to correct her.

"Yes I suppose I did. Tell me, do you remember the first time you saw me?"

"It was at my initiation, and you were greeting all the new students."

"What did I look like?"

Glynda paused at that. "You looked like… well, you."

"I did, whereas you were a teenager. Through these long years you have been a steadfast companion and a loyal friend. But I have watched you grow into the woman you are today, and I would have watched you grow old and pass away, while I remain as the world rushes by me. I just don't have the strength for that anymore…" He turned away from her.

"Ozpin, you idiot." For the first time in years, she’d said his name, just his name. "The world is what we make of it. If you let it rush by, it will. Or you can reach out and grasp it. I’ve never been concerned about your Semblance. First I admired you as a mentor, then I cared for you as a friend, and I grew to know you as much as anyone could when you deliberately shut yourself off from others.

"You are a good man. I know you don't want to believe it, but you are. I do wish we could have been more together. I think we would have made each other happy, and that we would still. But I have always respected your right to refuse me. I had thought the fault lay with me… now I see it is entirely yours. We will discuss this further in Atlas, when we arrive together, and I will not leave your side until that time."

Was he a good man? Would she say that if she knew the truth? Knew everything he had done? He had ̶ ̶ they all had ̶ ̶ tried to be good. Like everything else, most would consider they had failed at that as well. If you wanted to fight evil, you had to be prepared to descend into the pit it lived in.

Glynda was a much better person than he, and though he was tired of the barbarity of this world he had no urge to die. But it was likely. The probability of his survival was just too low to ignore. As much as Glynda would like to take his place, only he was able to do what needed to be done.

Still, a lie would be easier for her to stomach than the truth.

"And yet you must. You are too useful for me to allow you to mope in here with an old man. You’re needed down below. But we will discuss this in Atlas. I will be following on my private airship that I have sequestered away. You have my word on that."

Glynda still didn't look convinced, but the flashes from her scroll were becoming ever more impatient. "Yes, you will. I will not leave without you, but you are right. Someone has to represent this academy below." She walked to the door before turning back. "Note how I haven't said goodbye, because this isn't one."

Ozpin let her leave. It was. She just didn't know it yet.

With Glynda at the helm the people of Vale would be fine as long as no outside forces moved against her, but his notes would give her enough leverage to counter them even if they did. They would be his final gift to her.

The city still burned, and from his vantage point he could almost see the White Fang. The ones who had, like so many before them, risen up professing rightful change, but carrying out evil.

At least their cause was somewhat just. Through no fault of their own the Faunus had always proven a thorn in his side, the interaction of humans with them was just too hard to predict. Sometimes they managed to coexist peacefully but most times they could not. Whenever something went wrong it was too easy for people to blame it on those who weren't like them.

The Faunus War was one of the first times his oath not to interfere had been truly tested and he hadn't forsaken it. That torrent of blood had not happened because he had made a mistake. It happened because of the fear, greed, and outright stupidity of those who ruled.

It should not have fallen on his conscience and yet it did. With his guidance it could have been avoided. With his intervention, it could have been halted much sooner. Yet, in keeping his word, he’d let the war rage on until tens of thousands had died. Inaction there had tested him.

Mountain Glenn was almost worse. It should not have fallen. The defences were strong, the cave system underneath had been sealed and yet it fell. Thousands more on his conscience. He could have prevented their deaths, but that overt action would have broken his oath. So he’d left them, all in the name of his promise.

He’d kept his word, but it was not worth the thousands who died. That was it, he decided, the point where he had chosen to involve himself just enough so nothing like that would ever happen again. The fall of Mountain Glenn had made him suspect foul play. After that his network of informants had been established. They’d found nothing, and he’d begun to doubt his feelings.

No longer. A White Fang attack could be explained, even expected. They could have even managed to corrupt the Knights on their own. But it was far too convenient that the Knights were there in the first place.

The Council had ignored his advice and given leave for them to come to Vale. James was not responsible for what had happened, Ozpin had watched him grow into the man he had become. His friend would never have been a party to that which had taken place. His primary concern had always been for the wellbeing of the people he protected, even his order to fire on the city had been for the greater good.

No, the fault lay with the Council and whoever was manipulating them. It was far too much of a coincidence that everything had come together in such a way that an entire city could fall. It spoke too much of the way they used to operate.

Which one was it? Or was it more than one? Had they all decided that Vale needed to be purged, had they returned to their old ways? Well, he would find out. At least one of them would be down in that city. One of them would be there and he would look into their eyes once more.

Which ones would they be? He ran them all through his head: brown, blue, amber, green, silver, or would they be disguised? Which eyes would he be forced to meet as he asked them why they’d brought death to his city? Slaughtered those he had had watched grow, those that had been content to live their own lives without hurting anyone?

With mounting anger his finger was unwittingly resting on the release mechanism of Umbraspem. Named in the foolishness of his youth, when they’d such ambition, such goals, such _hope_ for the world. He should have changed its name or discarded it entirely. It rested impossibly heavy on his lap, weighed down by the souls of the tens of thousands that had faced him. But they never could. Even without his Semblance the weapon made him almost untouchable. With it, he was.

Extremely carefully, he released the mechanism and drew the blade hidden inside his cane. It didn't look like much. A simple straight sword, two fingers widths wide, too narrow to withstand any significant impacts, and barely enough weight to overpower someone's Aura. Left in a shop, most would pass over it without a second glance, attracted to the flashier merchandise. In their ignorance they would pass over one of the most powerful weapons on the planet.

The only thing that may have been worthy of a second glance was the colour of its blade. It was pure white, unmarred despite the countless times it had been wielded. Even white in colour it was unremarkable, but just underneath the surface, barely perceptible unless inspecting closely, a storm raged. A storm of many different shades which all fought for supremacy. Once more, Ozpin lost himself in that raging tempest.

He had built so many rules to keep his promise. So many reasons why he couldn't interfere. It was the only way he could keep his sanity as he watched everything tumble down around him. It had always been his wish that a day would come when he didn't need them. When he would be a better man. Good men don't need rules, and he had far too many. So what did that say about him?

Today in his office, overlooking his city, his people, his students dying in their attempt to protect the civilians as they were evacuated, fighting a war he hoped they would never have to, those rules were abandoned. A good man didn't sit in his chair. No, someone else did. A figure from legend.

The White Fang weren't to know what they were facing. It was so easy to change who you were when you manipulated almost everything. He’d had a hundred different names, a hundred different faces. He’d appeared in a hundred stories. A hundred tales. Tales most thought fabrications. They weren't.

The White Fang would learn who had turned back the Grimm from Elysion. Who had stormed the gates of the Golden Hall. Who’d cut their way through the Pavorii legion and executed their king. Who’d brought down hundreds of the strongest champions sent to face him. Killed dozens of tyrants to the cheers of their oppressed populace.

And they would meet the person that had sent armies fleeing at the sound of his name. Who had given no quarter. Allowed no surrender of those who had opposed their dream. Who had ripped through fortresses, and left them as mutilated examples to others who would stand against them. Who had driven and harried his enemies into the violent embrace of the Grimm.

They would learn why the fables had not always regarded him as the protagonist. They would learn why his names used to be unconditionally feared. It was time for him to carve a new bloody legend into the pages of history.

Ozpin rose and, for the first time in nearly eight decades, the headmaster of Beacon went to war.

 


	16. Chapter 16

Weiss knew she should have woken her ̶ ̶ that she would be furious that she had been allowed to sleep past the time her watch was meant to begin ̶ ̶ but Weiss just couldn't find it in her heart. Curled into a ball under her cloak, with a face blessedly free of the horrors of the day, Ruby just looked too peaceful. Too at rest.

With the way she shouldered the responsibility that was thrust upon her, it was often difficult to remember that Ruby was only fifteen. Normally, after a brief period of adaptation, she exuded an authoritative air far in excess of her years. In her unconsciousness, that had faded from her. She looked just like the child she’d been before this day.

It was one of the many things that made Ruby special to her, and also made her sure that Ruby deserved someone better. Ruby had always been so full of childish energy, bubbling enthusiasm for whatever task was placed in front of her.

Sometimes they weren't things she enjoyed, sitting still, writing reports, but she always tried her best. Working extra hard to make up for the years she had skipped. Often Weiss would fall asleep to the scratching of a pen from the bed above her.

If it was something Ruby enjoyed doing, then it was all her teammates could do to keep her from bouncing from the ceiling. More often than not, they would find themselves caught up in her enthusiasm. In her partner, existed such a verdant well of kindness, it had even managed to spare some for her. No matter how many times her actions had hurt her partner.

Even after…

Weiss grimaced and was dimly aware of her abdominal muscles tensing so much they hurt. A round face was drawn from the halls of her memory. As her eyes screwed shut and her teeth clamped together, it took her perhaps half a minute to reclaim control of her tormented body.

When she was finally able to open her eyes, her finger traced over the necklace in her palm. No one would ever mistake it for being anything other than a cheap item meant for children. The workmanship was shoddy, the metals were base, the sparkling crystals fake. No one would ever expect for a Schnee to lower herself to wearing such a thing, but she knew it would forevermore be one of the most treasured items she owned.

A therapist might say it was destructive. That she should accept what she’d done and leave it behind. Discard the necklace, perhaps bury it in pseudo ceremony meant to represent the past being laid to rest. But she wouldn't. She would carry it with her. To remember what the world had lost.

It wasn't healthy, that much was obvious, but she’d made that decision. To ease Amber's passing. To murder her. It was not something that could or should be forgotten. It was horrific, but she also knew that if she was able to relive that moment, she would do it again. It was the right thing to do.

If being forced to kill one of her friends wasn't bad enough, thinking that the act had also made Ruby hate her was just an added layer of anguish. It was almost unthinkable that it had only been just over forty eight hours since the party and the kiss which had redefined her world. In that short space of time, she’d gone from anxiety, to indescribable happiness, to horror, to upmost depression, to whatever she was now… melancholic perhaps.

In the hours after the act, she’d honestly thought her life was no longer worth living. With the guilt, without Ruby, it would have been best to let one of the Grimm kill her.

But she hadn't. Not only because somewhere she knew it was not the solution, but to do so would have left Ruby alone in the middle of a violent city. Even if Ruby hated her, she didn’t want her to come to harm.

Much like Winter apparently hadn’t. Weiss had always loved her sister. Just as she loved her father despite all the horrific things he had forced her to endure throughout her life. What she hadn't realised was that Winter, unlike her father, appeared to at least return some of that love.

Perhaps the realisation had come too late. It was unlikely they would ever have a relationship like Yang and Ruby shared but maybe, just maybe, they could repair the damage from their troubled childhood. It would be hard, but perhaps if they got out of this, they could go to dinner together. Just the two of them, with no ulterior motives, and actually get to know each other. She could hope.

But first they had to survive. Weiss watched as Ruby's chest rose and fell comfortingly under her cloak. Her hand absentmindedly played with soft brown hair, rolling it between her fingers, gently working out any knots that Ruby had missed. This sort of contact ̶ ̶ the one she had desired so much throughout her childhood ̶ ̶ helped her relax.

The night had almost been peaceful, while there was occasional gunfire from further up the defensive perimeter, nothing had attacked their position. The conscripts manning their wall were alert. On her patrols, she’d found none sleeping.

The men and women on the wall had at least been grateful for her presence. Some were the same age that she was, or they were old enough to be her grandfather with grizzled skin and shaking limbs. For them to know that a team of elite huntresses would be performing the majority of the fighting tomorrow gave them comfort. They were all respectful to her. Not only because they believed she was higher up the chain of command than they were ̶ ̶ though in her opinion it was still highly unlikely the conscription had applied to her ̶ ̶ but also because she was a Schnee.

Weiss had talked with them, reassured them, before moving on to the next group, and they were thankful for the brief distraction. But the area their team was responsible for was not all that large, and there were only so many times she could inspect it. After, she’d checked on Blake and Yang multiple times.

When Blake had arrived it had looked bad, but it was only when she had brought them some food and drinks was the full extent of the damage visible. The sight of Blake unconscious in her underwear, the quilt under her crimson, seemingly every inch of her skin marred by cuts and lacerations had taken her breath away.

Immediately she’d taken a step forward, intent on helping, before pausing and realising that Yang clearly had it in hand. Her friend had been lovingly cleaning and sterilising all of the wounds, so absorbed in her work that her presence had gone unnoticed. Weiss had left her to it, checking on them periodically until the last time Yang had fallen into a peaceful sleep with Blake's head on her lap.

With that excuse to be walking around also stripped from her, she’d moved all the soiled clothing and bandages that were scattered around the house to the trash, and sterilised the medical equipment.

Still restless, she’d taken Gambol Shroud with the intention of cleaning it. On the kitchen table, she’d wiped the grime from the blade before sharpening and oiling the metal. It was in poor condition. The day's fighting had ensured there were several new chips on the edge, but there wasn't a lot that could be done about those with the tools that were available.

The pistol mechanism was more difficult to clean. With how customised most hunters weapons were, she didn't want to completely disassemble it, only to find it wouldn't go back together. In compromise, she merely made sure everything that could move did so smoothly.

Her lips had pursed when she took in the one part of Blake's weapon she understood completely. The Dust cartridge was a mess. It appeared Blake, for some reason she couldn't comprehend had used full crystals rather than powder. It took much longer to the clean the cartridge of the remnants of the crystals than it should have done ̶ ̶ which she was secretly greatly for ̶ ̶ but eventually it was spotless. Finally Weiss had to admit there was nothing left for her to do.

So she sat on the bed, next to her partner, listening to her sleep. Whether the world would ever be the same again after this, she didn't know. But she hoped that her partner, and the first friends she’d ever had, would remain by her side.

A particularly loud quartet of explosions rocked the night, but she was more concerned with their effect on Ruby. Her partner had stirred under the hand entwined with her hair. Weiss made comforting noises as she massaged the scalp in an attempt to return her partner to her peaceful slumber.

It didn’t work. Ruby blinked the sleep out of her eyes. Despite something looming over her, she still obviously felt safe, and her face twisted in confusion as she attempted to identify it. It was an adorable expression, and Weiss decided to help her out.

"Did you sleep well?" She kept her voice quiet and soft.

"Weiss… hey… yeah… what time is it?" Ruby's mind still hadn't quite managed to escape from her dreams.

"It's four fifty two."

It took a little bit of time for Ruby to process the answer to her question, but when she did her response was exactly as Weiss knew it would be. Ruby uncoiled herself from under her cloak before coming to kneel next to her.

"Weiss, you should have woken me hours ago." She sounded angry and hurt.

"You looked so peaceful lying there, I didn't want to disturb you. I wouldn't be able to get to sleep anyway."

"Weiss… you must be as tired as I was. You've got to look after yourself. You're ju ̶ ̶ "

Getting into an argument with her partner over such a small matter was not something she wanted to do. So just as Ruby was building up a head of steam, Weiss leant over and kissed her.

Ruby's words were cut off when their lips met and her eyes fluttered closed. It was different from all the other times they had kissed so far. Those had been born of lust, desperate and needy. They’d mashed their lips together, invaded each other's mouths with their tongues as their hands roved over the other's body, grabbing, teasing, exploring.

This was different. It was soft, caressing. It wasn't frantic. The contact was gentle. Their lips barely brushed one another, the slightest hint of touch. But it was all the more special because of it.

Weiss could feel the heat radiating from Ruby's velvety flesh. Could taste the slight staleness of sleep, and the minty freshness of a spot of toothpaste Ruby had missed. She lost herself in the sensation. Their previous couplings had been passionate. This was more, in each other, they found comfort. Neither tried to take it further. Neither needed to when they both knew what the kiss meant.

After an age they broke apart, and looked each other in the eyes. Weiss saw indefinable strength in the silver portals and compassion and… what she hoped was love. Their relationship had gone through so much, even in the short time they had been together. Weiss had believed that she’d lost her partner. Lost one of the only things that made her happy but, through the trials and tribulations, their relationship had come out all the stronger.

"I'm still mad at you," Ruby said.

"I know." Weiss nodded with a smile.

There was a fresh report of gunfire that ramped up in intensity. They both looked away from each other and towards the window. While they had sat here and kissed, people were fighting for their lives. They both sent their best wishes to those engaged in combat.

* * *

 

"Fox, back them up!" Coco shouted to her teammate over the cacophony of noise, pointing heedless of his disability. She knew he would understand her gesture.

The soldiers to her right were struggling; the half dozen Beowolves had managed to cross the killing field and hunkered down right at the base of the wall. And the crappy fortification that she stood upon had no bastions sticking out that would allow the defenders to target them from safety.

The soldiers had to lean over the makeshift crenulations and fire straight down. The Beowolves themselves seemed to be having great fun as they jumped up and swiped at their attackers. The first unfortunate soldier to fall prey to their tactics had been knocked off balance and dropped into the pack's waiting clutches. The sounds were not pleasant.

Fox arrived on the scene. Unlike the soldiers he didn't lean over the edge. He jumped straight down into the midst of the pack. His first attack knocked one back, its body expanding before it burst, even as his blades sliced into another. With the Beowolves distracted, the soldiers were able to take aim without fear of reprisal and under the combined assault the three remaining Grimm fled. The Atlesian soldiers tried to hit them on the move, but they were too fast and managed to slip away. Well, the soldiers would get another chance. They were sure to be back, and in greater numbers.

Fox knelt by the soldier who had fallen for a moment, before shaking his head and running to where a rope had been thrown down. As her teammate returned to her section of wall, Coco looked over her domain.

And promptly decided, for about the hundredth time, she would kick the ass of whoever had made this crappy fortification, whichever idiot had decided that the road to Beacon needed to be this wide, and the fucks who were behind all this.

The wall just wasn't high enough to be worth using. Most of the Grimm could leap it in a single bound. It wasn't strong enough; a mortally wounded Deathstalker had managed to crash through a section further down from her and now troops were having to defend the breach. But worst of all, it was certainly too long.

Whichever architect had designed this part of the city had certainly not foreseen that the road to Beacon might someday need to be defended. It was wide enough to host a parade, stretching over a dozen lanes. It was just her poor fortune that she had been stationed here.

She at least supposed that was a compliment. Out of all the students in the city, only her team had been assigned to defend the main wall. Her company were Atlesian soldiers, professional huntsmen, and the black clad troops who supposedly belonged to the SDC. That the SDC had a clandestine Special Operations force that she had not been aware of until this day was not comforting.

Like anyone born to money, her family had a long history with the Schnees. Like most, that history consisted of getting ruthlessly crushed underfoot whenever they had tried to enter a market the SDC held an interest in. The Adels and the Schnees did not get along.

It was common knowledge that the SDC had brought thousands of Knights in response to the attacks of the White Fang and had hired enough security guards to form a small army, but this was different. Judging by the hideously efficient way they were defending the wall, they must have been hired straight out of the top combat schools on the planet, and they were making good use of the best equipment money could buy.

Still, she was glad they were there at the moment. Multiple times they’d come to the aid of the soldiers under her command. She’d ordered Velvet and Yatsuhashi to try and get some rest. If the White Fang assaulted them with full force as was expected later they would need Velvet at her maximum strength if they were to hold.

It had been a particularly trying day for Velvet in particular. Unlike the others of their team, her family lived in Vale. She’d been frantic with worry. The two of them had hurried to her parent’s apartment, only stopping to neutralise any of the Knights in the way. Good fortune had seen it hadn't been far from the shops, and even better fortune had found Velvet's family still at home.

They’d been scared obviously, but upon seeing their big sister Velvet's younger siblings had surrounded her in a ball of affection. Despite everything it had brought a smile to her heart. Coco always loved visiting them, regardless of their financial situation or perhaps because of it, the Scarlatinas were so full of joy and happiness. They always welcomed her with open arms.

They had managed to get them through the warzone, it was difficult and they had picked up plenty of other civilians on the way, but they did it. Upon Velvet telling her family she had to leave the safety of Beacon, her siblings had clung to her legs and cried. That had of course set tears streaming down Velvet's face, when Velvet cried with happiness she looked incredibly cute, at that moment she had not. And Coco felt her heart twist as she watched the family that was so close to each other, break apart. Despite their lack of years, her siblings understood at least part of what was happening, and they knew what might occur if Velvet went back into the city.

They had left Beacon and made the best of a bad situation. They knew they were probably the foremost student team in the city and, after the other members of their team had presumably drawn by the sound of her very distinctive weapon, they’d headed towards where the fighting was thickest.

The day had been terrible but they had all managed to make it through in more or less one piece. They had only been back at Beacon for a few moments before their new orders had come in and the rest of her team had to quickly find something to eat before heading to the wall.

In the midst of combat the Grimm were stupid, but when their blood wasn't raised they showed some intelligence. They’d started attacking in waves. It seemed that every single one for a hundred miles had been drawn to Vale by the terror of the people inside of it, and almost all were heading straight at them. The crack of rifles had quickly died down as they conserved their ammunition for the more threatening Grimm, something Coco had to do as well.

Surrounded by the Atlesian military, standard military grade ammunition should have been in ample supply, but most of what she needed had been on the aircraft that had been shot down. Though she’d managed to scrounge some from a wreckage, she was still running out.

So her targets had mainly been reduced to any Deathstalkers or King Taijitus who got too close. And they were getting far too close. In the last half an hour, they’d been under their most sustained assault yet.

Tracers constantly burned paths through the air, occasionally setting the fur of a Grimm aflame. But despite the outpouring fire, there were just too many, and the Grimm were capable of shrugging off lone rounds of smaller calibres. It took multiple hits to take them down. All along the width of the too wide road, the defenders were starting to get stretched. They would succeed in killing one Grimm, only to have another one use its partner's death to bound ever closer.

On the far side of the back clad figures on the opposite end of the wall, most of the normal hunters had switched to their weapon's melee variants in an attempt to deny the ramparts from the Grimm crowding at their base. A King Taijitu reared up high above them before slamming its immense body weight down. It was the opportunity the other Grimm were waiting for and they crested the top of the battlements in a black wave.

The line of defenders was pushed back, away from the wall and into the street behind it. They tried to hold their ground, but their enemies were too numerous. The difference in weight too much. The crack of high calibre rifles beat a frantic rhythm as the sharpshooters recognised the danger and, with them no longer concerned with their dwindling supplies of ammunition, dozens of the Grimm fell a second. But it still wasn't enough.

The hunters valiantly holding the breach were flanked and overwhelmed, allowing even more to surge through the hole. All along the line the defenders on the wall had to split their attention between their own sections that were still under attack, and the section that was falling. Half the SDC troops carved their way along the ramparts in an attempt to retake it, and many other troops were peeling off to go to their support.

Coco quickly tried to come to a decision whether to commit some of the troops under her own command before her thought process was rudely interrupted by the stone shaking under her very expensive and very ruined boots ̶ ̶ courtesy of an Ursa that had decided to get its payback for its death by clawing the hand stitched leather.

The entire fucked up situation was seriously pissing her off, and her mood was not improved after she leant over the crenulations and saw a pair of Boarbatusks repeatedly smashing their heads into the wall. One of the few Grimm that couldn't easily scale it, they’d instead decided to go straight through it.

If the moron who’d built the wall had a clue how to do their job properly, it wouldn't have been a problem. As they were a moron, cracks were starting to spider their way towards her. There was not a chance she was going to let them breach her section of the wall as well. There was nothing for it.

With her handbag, she leapt down into the killing field. Boarbatusks were some of her least favourite Grimm to deal with. They weren't as dangerous as some of the other types, but they more than made up for it by having a copious number of armoured plates.

The shock of the impact of her falling attack ran up her arm. It hurt, but it had hurt the Boarbatusk more. The Grimm's unarmoured underbelly crunched into the ground. Coco didn't give it a chance to recover. Her handbag may not have been the best melee weapon, but it was certainly heavy. Slamming it down on the Boarbatusk's back again and again, cracks began appearing in white plates. High pitched squeals competed with gunfire and howls.

The other one took issue with her treatment of its mate and spun on the spot, getting up to speed before throwing itself at her. It might have caught a first year by surprise, sent them tumbling to the floor, but Coco wasn't a first year. Quickly calculating its trajectory, she waited until it was right upon her before sidestepping and giving it the slightest nudge on its foreleg.

Having missed its expected target, it tried to turn, but it tripped. Its armoured back smashed into the wall.

"Who built this thing?" Coco muttered under her breath, exasperated. Noting the new network of cracks while swinging her handbag into the Boarbatusk's unprotected underbelly. Ribs gave way with a satisfying crunch.

It had only taken a few seconds for her to eliminate the two Grimm and Coco looked round for more enemies. She found them. With about two thirds of the defenders on the wall distracted by the breach, the Grimm who’d been hanging back took it as their opportunity to charge the defences.

There were a lot of them. An awful lot. Enough that even Coco's heart fluttered at the sight, but only for a moment. A quick glance told her she had no way to scale the wall ̶ ̶ the wall that wasn't high enough for the Grimm, was too high for her ̶ ̶ and trapped at the base, she made a quick decision. Spare ammunition wouldn't do her corpse any good.

The gratifying sound and vibration of barrels spinning up to speed, should have been warning enough to the Grimm who tried to charge her. But like so many before them they failed to recognise their impending doom.

White hot rounds spat from the end of her weapon and leapt across the killing field. It was aptly named. Many hunters preferred to use Dust rounds in their weapons. For smaller weapons they supplied more killing potential than their metal counterparts. Hers was not a normal weapon. The huge calibre rounds concentrated their high mass and tremendous velocity behind a hardened armour-piercing tip.

Their effect on the Grimm was not pretty. Where normal rounds pierced, hers carved. Hitting the front Ursa, the first bullet passed clean through, leaving shockwaves to tear through the tissue all around its path. It had enough energy to continue on its journey and took a following Beowolf in the face. Its skull shattered. The single round would have been enough to down the Ursa, but Reine de Beauté wasn't semi-automatic. Another struck a few inches away from the first entry hole fractions of a second later, and the competing internal shockwaves running through the flesh ripped the Ursa in two.

Coco dragged her weapon to the right and scythed through the oncoming horde. It was as if she was wielding a giant sword. Where she pointed, Grimm fell to pieces, tossed back into their comrades. And then it was their turn.

Her rounds were joined by thousands from atop of the fortification. From smaller rifles and the larger mounted LMGs, they formed a cocoon of light above her as their tracers burned. The Grimm ran forward into the swarm of fire. The first five ranks of the charging horde were transformed into chunks of flesh.

Coco knew their suicidal desires would allow them to achieve their goal. With those above her reloading, the drop in the intensity of fire allowed them to come closer. She was forced to rake her weapon back and forth in an attempt to keep them distant. It wasn't working. Where a single round was sufficient to kill a smaller Grimm, Deathstalkers and King Taijitus required her to pause and put multiple bullets into them. The brief halts did not help her cause.

The cracked wall provided an uncomfortable reminder that there was nowhere left to fall back to, and she had to admit she may have made a slight tactical error in leaping down to the base of it. But blinking the moisture that had begun gathering on her face away, she did not give up. If she was to die, she would take as many of them with her as possible.

Blinding light appeared all around her, clawing at her eyes, and searing down her optic nerves. It was actually physically painful, such was its intensity. Unlike an explosion it didn't go away. It only ramped up in vibrancy. Grimm screamed. Horrific wails of absolute agony which beat against her ears. Unbeknownst to her, her hand had come off the trigger in a desperate attempt to shield the vulnerable flesh of her face from the blistering heat that ripped the air out of her lungs.

Something hit the ground in front of her. She only knew because she felt it. All her other senses were overwhelmed. But something within attack range could not be good, and she swung her still deployed weapon in its rough direction.

Lugging around a Gatling gun all day ensured she was ridiculously strong for the litheness of her body, but her strength was helpless against whatever halted her attack. Reine de Beauté was ripped from her grasp, and she was swept off her feet.

The indignity of being so easily bested was galling. She used that to force her Aura to repair whatever had been done to her eyes. To at least give her the chance to fight back. All her weight was concentrated on her ass and, as she struggled futilely, she finally managed to get a glimpse of her attacker.

It was little surprise her strength had not matched her assailants, for her attacker was freakishly big, freakishly strong, and wearing a wide grin. Coco was just about to dress Yatsuhashi down for assaulting her, before her brain caught up with where his hand was resting, how his arm was positioned, and why he was grinning.

"Don't you dar ̶ ̶ " Her words turned into an undignified shriek as his arm swept upwards and launched her towards the top of the wall.

She managed to fly through the air with all the majesty of a sack of potatoes, tumbling over before dropping unceremoniously on battlements. Her impact was painful. The sight of Reine de Beauté scraping against the rough stone when it landed after her was infinitely worse.

Snatching it off the ground, she turned just in time to see a huge hand clamp down on the crenulations and Yatsuhashi hauled himself up, muscles bulging beneath his skin. Of course the idiotic giant could scale a wall meant to halt the Grimm. Glaring at his stupid grinning face, Coco was forced to admit that she might be holding a grudge for him throwing her and, more importantly, her precious weapon after her.

Remembering the dire situation they were in, she sprang up and tried to gather her bearings. Fox was right behind her ̶ ̶ grinning, he'd pay for that ̶ ̶ and Velvet was there as well. The Faunus was not grinning. She was not even looking at her. With her eyes closed and right hand outstretched, she faced the incandescent firestorm in the killing field with a look of utter concentration on her face.

Even from atop the wall, the heat was dreadfully uncomfortable. The majority of the soldiers were hunkering down away from it. Not Velvet though. The wind surging to feed the flames sent her hair whipping around her and silhouetted in the light. Gone was the meek figure that most saw. Velvet stood tall. The fires of creation dancing to her whim. It was no overstatement to say, standing there, she looked like a goddess. And the Grimm screamed in response to her wrath.

Velvet's box quietly clicked shut with the finality of a gunshot. It shouldn't have been audible over the roaring crescendo of the flames, the sounds of fighting from further down the wall, the howls of the Grimm, but it was. It always was.

The storm raged on, feeding on flesh, but with its primary fuel source gone it slowly began to dissipate, orange and red curling into the sky. The fire had robbed them of their night vision, but the illumination provided by the flames was more than enough for Coco to see Velvet sway on the spot before her left leg gave way under her.

As usual Yatsuhashi was ready to catch her. It was one of his main roles in their team. Poor Velvet's stamina was not good, and too often she sacrificed it all for them. When that happened Yatsuhashi could stand over her protecting her prostrate form and, if necessary, make use of his prodigious strength to easily carry her to safety.

Coco felt the same stab of fear she did every time Velvet collapsed. She knew Velvet's heart would be fluttering weakly in her chest, beating an irregular rhythm. As much as she wanted to rush to her girlfriend, there were other duties that needed attending to.

Her section of the wall was clear of Grimm. On the other side of the wide road, the Grimm had been pushed back much closer to the ramparts. The horde buckling under the assault of the reserves Lieutenant General Calder had been forced to utilise.

A half dozen Paladins had charged into their midst, laying about them with huge fists. The Atlesian Special Forces and the black clad groups were making good use of the chaos, slicing through any that opposed them. They advanced over ground bloodied by both the Grimm and the defenders, and they made the attackers pay dearly for ever inch they’d temporarily stolen from them.

The Grimm on the other side of the wall fled. No matter how blood lusted, all living things have a primal fear of fire. For half the length of the wall the road surface had melted in a great swathe. Of the Grimm which had been inside the conflagration, few signs remained. There was the odd blackened bone or armoured plate, but the rest of the corpses had been vaporized.

They were the lucky ones. The Grimm that hadn't quite been close enough to the fires to die, weren't. They lay on the ground, their flesh hideously disfigured, covered in burns. Unable to move, only able to suffer. It perhaps spoke of the defenders moods, that none sought to put them out of their misery.

With half the wall shielded by flames, it had freed up more defenders to reclaim the battlements behind the Grimm who’d already made it over. Pinned between two sets of defenders, they were slaughtered in their scores.

While that was going on, Coco was finally able to fall to her knees beside Velvet. Without realising it, she’d put her ear to Velvet's mouth to check that her girlfriend was still breathing. Only to have Velvet weakly swat her away.

"I'm fine," Velvet said. Her appearance didn't exactly match her words, her exertions had left her pale and her eyelids quivered.

Coco took her hand. It trembled in her grasp. She hated this so much, to see Velvet in this condition and to know it was her fault. It was why she always tried to ensure that Velvet wouldn't have to open her box ̶ ̶ she often tried to make it a joke, to make Velvet feel better ̶ ̶ but it just took too much out of her partner. Unnecessarily, when they were normally strong enough to manage without. They were all exceptional fighters, Velvet included using just her limbs. So mercifully, most situations didn't need her special abilities.

With a torrent of Grimm bearing down on half the wall, and the other half overrun, Velvet had obviously felt it was the only option. It had probably saved everyone in Vale, only at the small cost of her girlfriend's health. A trade she knew Velvet would be happy to make.

Velvet must have mistaken her expression for one of anger directed towards her, for she apologised in her normal stammering voice. The one that distinctly lacked the confidence of the figure that had stood overlooking what she had wrought.

"I'm sorry about burning your clothes, I… I tried to use blue Dust to establish a temperature gradient near you but I… I had to rush and I didn't want you to get hurt…" She hugged herself with her free hand, tucking her chin into her chest, making herself as small as possible.

Coco looked down. Her designer clothes had been scorched the same as Yatsuhashi's and she didn't care in the slightest. It always hurt to see Velvet like this. Even after all their years together, her friend had not managed to exorcise the demons from her bullied childhood. Somewhere inside of her, she still expected violence.

"Velves you saved my life, again. You could burn my entire wardrobe and I wouldn't care… much," she amended finally. No need to give anyone ideas.

"You're not mad?" Velvet bit her lip nervously.

This time Velvet did annoy her, though not for the reasons Velvet might have been imagining. Coco had expressly forbidden her girlfriend from ever biting her lip in front of her. It resulted in the usually adorable face to increase in cuteness by orders of magnitude and without fail it caused her thoughts to devolve in a direction which wasn't suitable to be pursued in the company of hundreds of other people, although maybe... Coco coughed.

"No I'm not."

Like most on the wall, now there was a temporary lull in the fighting at their position, she gratefully sat down and pulled Velvet against her. It could have been peaceful, if not for the moans of pain from the Grimm on the killing grounds, the sounds of combat from elsewhere or the sickly sweet scent of burnt flesh. Still with Velvet nuzzling into her and the rest of their team intact it could have been worse.

"Uhh… Miss Coco Adel." A voice drew her from her thoughts.

Standing above their group was a young Atlesian soldier still in his teens, who was looking between the two girls uncertainly.

"Yes," Coco said.

"I have a message from command. Goliaths have been sighted entering the city. It is likely they will assault your position, and you are instructed to make preparations to receive them. That's it." He saluted his superior and turned on his heel—forgetting that you weren't meant to on the battlefield, lest you reveal the chain of command to the enemy.

Coco didn't care about that; her mind was on the contents of the message. Goliaths. Fantastic. And they were meant to _receive them_. As easy as that. Instructing her team to remain seated, she forced herself up and headed off to find the other section leaders so they could try and concoct a plan.

She ruefully shook her head. Goliaths. As if the day couldn't get any better.

* * *

 

Pain.

That was the first thing Blake felt upon her return to consciousness. If this was in fact consciousness, and not another agony laden dream. She tried to move her arm and was rewarded by the pain flaring up to new previously unreached levels.

Not a dream then. Breathing out, she was delighted to find that moving her chest hurt as well. _May as well try and make it a third_ she thought to herself as she cracked open her eyes. Surprisingly that didn't hurt. They responded to her commands easily, not that it revealed much.

The room was dark, the slightest traces of light sneaking in through the gaps in the curtains. It was also entirely unfamiliar. Her location was unknown, and she was vulnerable.

The fear gave her the strength to pull the heavy quilt off of her body. The first thing she noticed was that she was in her underwear, that made her uncomfortable, and the second was her body was a mess.

That explained the pain. Her skin was a blotted collection of bruises, ranging through all the sickly colours one could expect and without having to raise her head all that much, at least a dozen cuts were in her sight.

Her panic had died down though. Foggily she remembered Yang kneeling next to her on the bed, cleaning her and a blush rose in her cheeks at the thought of her partner touching her so intimately. Still, she knew she would be feeling one of hell of a lot worse if her partner hadn't helped her, and Blake sent her a silent thank you.

From the moment she’d escaped from the alley, most of her memories were hazy. She thought she remembered a room somewhere, and then a long slow trek through the night, but not much more. The pain had robbed her of her recollections.

Grimacing, she prodded all the various bruises with her left hand, and tried to test their severity. Her report consisted of they hurt. Most of the bruises weren't that bad. They were sore, but manageable. The one on the side of her chest was not. By the size and feel of it, Adam's kick had broken some of her ribs.

Still she was loath to lie in bed to recover, especially when other people might need her. Presumably thanks to Yang's ministrations, none of her cuts stuck to the sheets as she swung her leg out of bed, but when the back of her thigh came to rest on the corner of the mattress she had to clamp her teeth together to stop herself crying out.

That was stupid. Her mind still wasn't entirely clear of the haze of drug induced sleep. She should have remembered where one of her more serious injuries was. Twisting her thigh. She was unable to get a clear look at it, but the start of the line of stitches holding her flesh together was visible.

God, stitches were a pain. It would be painful for days. Days she simply could not afford. Not with everything that was happening.

Being more careful, she slipped out of bed. Thankfully her leg was still capable of supporting her weight, even if she could feel the stitches pulling tight at every movement. There were fresh clothes on a chair in the corner, and Gambol Shroud looked almost pristine next to them, gathering them all up she made her way to the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later, finding the house deserted, she stepped out into the street. It was one she recognised near Beacon and, even in the very early morning light, it was busy. Her ears, safely back in her bow, picked up the sound of intense combat from elsewhere.

Her teammates were unaware of her presence. It was only when she was a dozen feet away that they noticed her. Yang immediately broke off from her conversation, and came to stand angrily in front of her.

"Blake, you're meant to be in bed. What on Remnant are you doing up? How are you even walking? Have you open ̶ ̶ " Yang sounded ready to rattle off a dozen more questions, before Blake cut her off.

"Yang I'm fine."

It was the truth… mostly. Her injuries hurt but—with her Aura gradually making progress, and the pain medication someone had been thoughtful enough to leave out—they weren't debilitating. She couldn't say she'd had to fight through worse in the White Fang. Her current injuries were the most severe she'd ever sustained. But in her old group no one would have cared for her as Yang had. It was unlikely she would be running any races for a while, but walking was ok.

Yang couldn't have looked less convinced. "Blake there's no way you're fine. You've only had hours to recover…" Once again trailing off as Blake held up her hand.

"Thank you for everything you've done, but I'm telling you I'm fine." Blake would have hugged her, but her ribs probably weren't up to the task of withstanding one of Yang's bone crushing embraces. Still she tried to convey her feelings with the special smile few ever saw.

Someone cough. Warm liquid splashed her face. A body fell off the battlements. Another cough, and this time the sound of bone breaking.

"Sniper! Get down!" Blake shouted, ignoring the twinge in her chest. Grabbing Yang by the arm, she dragged her close to the wall.

It was unlikely that anyone else had managed to hear the report of the supressed weapon, but to anyone who’d used one, it was unmistakable. Another conscript fell off the wall, trailing a streamer of blood.

The smallest consolation was that the subsonic rounds would be unlikely to be able to kill one of her team in a single hit unless the sharpshooter got lucky, but for most normal people, they were more than sufficient.

"Fuck!" Yang stared at the conscript who’d fallen near them. "Where are they!"

The heat radiating from Yang clearly indicated what course of action she wanted to take. Pressed against the wall, they were temporarily safe. The rest of the people on their street had either joined them in the wall's shadow or were lying flat on top it, protected by the lip.

Now they were aware of them, as long as everyone stayed in cover, the sniper wasn't that much of a problem. The bigger issue was the sniper keeping their attention, while an assault force snuck up on them. It's what she would do if she were trying to attack a fortified position. Soften up the defenders before the main strike. They had to take the sniper down quickly.

Blake tried to work out where the sniper could be. Where she would be in their position. But that only narrowed it down to a couple of windows in the surrounding houses. It wasn't enough to formulate a detailed plan. Especially as only one of them had a weapon capable of engaging from long range.

"Ruby, I'll distract them. You take them out." Blake knew Ruby generally tried to avoid killing in combat, preferring to use the back of her weapon, but in this scenario it was us or them.

Blake hauled herself to the top of the wall. The exertions were less than kind to her numerous injuries, but a blessed mask of adrenaline dulled her hurts. There really wasn't a whole lot of cover on top of the wall, but she took refuge where she could.

Motioning the rest of her team to stay down, Blake used her Semblance. Normally her Shadow was left behind as her body was propelled away, but it was technically possible for her to perform the process in reverse. Just a lot harder and, with the time it took, not particularly useful in combat.

Her Shadow flew half a dozen feet down the wall. There was a cough and something tore through it. The twitch reflexes of the sniper betraying them before their mind could catch up with what they were targeting.

Now came the risky part. Most likely they would be using a bolt action rifle. There should be a brief window of safety when they were cycling the mechanism. Blake chose not to think about if there were two or more shooters, or if it was a semi-automatic rifle, or that her Aura probably wasn’t strong enough in its current depleted state to withstand a round, as she poked her head up.

The sun still hadn't fully risen. Dawn had always been the best time for raids, especially for the Faunus, but scanning the left side of the street she found nothing. Still, she was sure the report of the weapon had come from there. She stayed up as long as she dared before dropping back down.

"Ruby, left side. Weiss, a distraction."

Weiss waved Myrtenaster through the air above her. Its tip left points of light hanging in the air before they surged forward, leaving glittering trails behind them. It was a million to one chance that they would hit, but hopefully they would make the sniper pause.

Blake peeked over the wall again, eyes roving over the likely spots she hadn't managed to check last time. Yang had also added Ember Celica's rounds to the equation, whilst some of the more battle hardened soldiers were blind firing bursts in the rough direction she had indicated.

It was enough fire that Blake didn't immediately duck straight down but carried on searching. Then near the far end of the road, past a curtain that was almost drawn closed, something glinted.

"Ruby twelfth house on the left, top floor window furthest away from us."

It could have been nothing. A picture frame reflecting the light from Weiss' attack. Her imagination. At this range she really wasn't sure, but it might have been the polished surface of a scope.

They kept up the suppressing fire. Blake wished that she’d thought to grab some ammo for Gambol Shroud so she could provide some cover for Ruby as well. In compromise Shadows appeared in the air all around them, hopefully confounding the sniper.

Ruby had propped Crescent Rose on the edge of the wall, and sighted through it in the direction that she had been told. Blake watched her smoothly change the dials on her scope accounting for range, differences in elevation and windage, before her hand moved to the trigger. Her lungs emptied of breath, relieving the tension from her body and in that perfect time to fire, Blake saw her leader hesitated.

Yang tumbled from the wall.

"Ruby! Take the shot!"

Crescent Rose boomed, and silence fell.

 


	17. Chapter 17

It was going badly. Really badly.

After much careful deliberation, Coco had come to the conclusion that she really shouldn't have complained so much this morning. Despite the wall nearly being overrun and her almost dying, this morning hadn't been that bad. Not really. Not when since then the situation had become almost unimaginably worse.

This morning she’d to ration her ammo to take down the bigger threats, but at least she'd had ammo. At the moment there was enough left in the belts for a few seconds of fire at most. This morning, she’d complained about how shoddily built the wall was. But at least they’d been defending a wall, and not a line of rubble.

Her own section had two different breaches in it. The Grimm had simply ploughed through the flimsy battlements, dropping anyone standing on those sections into their clutches. They would have to be added to an ever growing list.

Her section was in bad way, and the situation wasn't much better at any other location down the wall. Despite the ferocity and tenacity of the defenders, as was usually the case, the Grimm were simply too numerous.

They’d been under constant attack for hours. They must have killed thousands of Grimm on this road alone, but they came on. Unrelentingly. The congregation of dozens hunters, some of the most elite special forces, and the more combat capable teachers from the best school on the planet, were barely able to hold back the tide.

With enough ammo. Enough air cover. Enough time to prepare. They could have held almost indefinitely, but they had none of that. And they were struggling. The fight had already consumed their reserves, and the reserve reserves. And even then, they barely had the numbers to continue to hold the line.

The Grimm had overrun their position multiple times, the defensive line bulging backwards as the Grimm surged into the hole created by their comrades. And each time the defenders had rallied. Painstakingly pushed them back, slipping on the road that was slick with a crimson sheen, until finally reclaiming the wall and awaiting the next charge. There was always a next one.

They had not trained for this. None of them had. Entirely absent were the carefully planned team routines making use of the latest technology. The tactics they had studied in their advanced Grimm courses. They had no place on this battlefield. Ironically they had studied the tactics they were all currently using, in their history class. This was a quintessential siege from centuries ago.

Coco knew she was almost at her limit. Some said CFVY were the best team of their generation, but she was surrounded by hunters who had likely had the same compliments. It wasn't doing them much good either.

No other force in the world would have been able to hold the wall for this long, on such unfavourable strategic terrain against almost unending waves, but they were. With every painful blood-filled swing of their weapons, they were holding.

They had held for hours and they would hold for hours more, they had to. The freighters had only just started evacuating the civilians. It would take an age for them all to be loaded. An age where they were stuck in the middle of this.

And the endless Grimm wasn't even what was concerning her at the moment. They were easy to deal with. Ursai, Deathstalkers, they’d all fought and beat them multiple times. No, what was concerning her were the two Goliaths who, ever so slowly, had been closing the distance between them.

They scared her, she could admit that. Goliaths were something you didn't bother and if they noticed you, you ran from. That was a universal rule all hunters and soldiers were taught. Against the other Grimm in the kingdom of Vale you had a chance. Against the Goliaths, you got out of the area as fast as you could, or you may as well start digging your own grave.

Bullets bounced off their hide, even hers. The Grimm simply didn't deign to notice. Dust usage was pointless. Fire, lightning, tickled them. Ice took them moments to shatter. If you had no other choice but to engage them, the only vulnerable point they had was their eyes, but even those were shielded by thick eyelids.

When she checked their position again, the two Goliaths had reached the strip of hastily constructed road surface she’d been waiting for.

"Brace!" Coco screamed at the top of her lungs, her cry being taken up down the line. Everyone broke off from their engagements to take cover behind whatever they could find. There was a moment where every defender screwed up their eyes and covered their ears, emptying their lungs of air.

The ground reared up beneath her. The crack of the shockwave smashing into her milliseconds later wasn't a sound. A sound couldn't have hurt as much as it did. A sound couldn't have ripped the remains of the wall from its foundation and scattered it to the wind.

Her body broke. It wasn't till later that the damage was able to be assessed and quantified. At the time, all Coco knew was agony. The shockwave had ruptured her eardrums, perforating the sensitive membranes, stabbing white hot needles down her canals. The tissue in her lungs and other gas containing organs had been sheared by the rapid changes in pressure, sending their own cacophony of reports along her nerves.

The dust came next, a cloud thick enough that it gouged its way into her eyes and clogged up her throat. A tempestuous, roiling mass of particles. Even through the pain Coco's body acted instinctively, coughing out the mouthfuls that had tried to enter her.

Coco couldn't see, couldn't hear, and she could barely feel. That pissed her off. With the strength of will that had forged Beacon's best team, she seized that feeling until it was all consuming. Her body said she needed to rest. She defied it, and dared it to tell her that again.

Coco pushed herself up to her knees and opened her eyes. The wall they had defended was no longer recognisable as such. The shockwave had succeeded where the Grimm were only partially successful, reducing its entire length to rubble.

A pyrocumulus cloud was obscuring everything near the blast site, rising ever upwards in the shape of a mushroom. Debris rained down all around her, ranging from small stones to lumps of rock the size of her body.

Other troops were rising to their knees. Fortunately, most looked to be in better shape than her. Though the normal troops didn't have an Aura anyway near as strong as hers, they wore armour that had been designed with explosions in mind. The few pieces she wore were designed to stop claws and fangs and she recognised, if they got out of this, it would be necessary to go back to the drawing board.

Of course the SDC troops, in their protective suits and all possessing strong Auras, had recovered already. They guarded the killing fields, giving their comrades time to recover.

They needn't have bothered. If the shockwave had done that much damage to her ̶ ̶ behind cover and through an Aura ̶ ̶ any Grimm exposed on the open streets would have been killed by the overpressure.

It had been a giant risk, but it had been the only plan they could devise to take down the Goliaths. Every single particle of explosives and Dust that could be spared, commandeered, or stolen had been buried beneath the street almost two kilometres away.

That itself had been a major task, but there was no way they could detonate that quantity of explosives nearer to Beacon. Even as it was, it was likely that some of the more vulnerable civilian's eardrums had burst when the shockwave had reached them, and Coco now had first-hand experience to attest to how unpleasant that was.

Planting the explosives had been a massive challenge that had involved the majority of the forces defending Beacon. Every person assigned to the main street, and half the troops from the rest of them. They’d surged after the Grimm as they fell back defeated for the umpteenth time.

It was a moment in which the Paladins, that had been largely impotent stuck behind the walls, could earn their keep. A cavalry charge was just as terrifying to witness as it was centuries ago. Only more so when equine grace was replaced by hundreds of tonnes of manufactured brutality that shook the very ground beneath them.

The line of Grimm that had tried to absorb the attack, faltered as the mechs bore down on them, before their poor excuse for a defensive formation was overrun. Travelling at a full sprint, it didn't matter in the slightest what species of Grimm the Paladins hit. Be they the smallest Creep or the largest Deathstalker, when they attempted to absorb the charge, they shattered. Crushed by the irrepressible momentum.

Following in their wake, came the troops who had abandoned their primitive fortifications and had descended to fight the Grimm on their level. They’d carved a chunk out of the Grimm-infested city that had once been theirs. With a perimeter secured, the sappers had gone to work, burying the explosives and the Dust, and wiring the improvised device to detonate.

It had taken them perhaps half an hour. Half an hour dearly paid for by the blood of their comrades. But they were soldiers and hunters. They fulfilled their orders no matter the cost and, when the time came, in orderly fashion, they had withdrawn to their fortifications. The fallen had been left behind.

Blinking the grit out of her eyes, Coco took in the effect their efforts had had on the city that was her home. The buildings for six blocks around the blast zone were gone. Swept away right down to their foundations. The entire area levelled by the ferocity of the blast that was the likely the largest the world had seen since the Great War.

Further out, the damage was less total. The walls impacted by the shockwave had been blown away, but the perpendicular walls were still standing. Though even as she watched, gravity overcame the unstable support structures, and sent them crashing down.

The dust was much thicker near the blast zone, but it was still evident that road was cratered. A hole at least a hundred feet wide and dozens deep. A testament to the brutality that could be unleashed by the extravagances of carefully applied science.

And through the dust, through her shock, through her utter sheen of incredulity, Coco watched two shapes emerge. Coco knew her mouth was open, but even the grit settling on her tongue couldn't persuade her to close it.

There was no way anything should have been able to survive that. That had been every scrap of explosives they had left, tonnes and tonnes of it, detonated right as they were over it. It was impossible, but the impossible had happened.

The Goliaths signalled their defiance into the silence that had been left absolute in the explosions wake. A trumpeting shouldn't have been able to be that terrible, to inspire the level of fear it did in everyone who heard it, but it was.

And from all across the city and the land outside it, other Grimm answered. Howls, screeches, roars, rose. Growing in volume. Outside the settlements, away from people, the Grimm were highly territorial. They fought each other over the smallest things. But as soon as they caught the slightest scent of a person, of their mortal enemies, all the minor disputes were forgotten.

The Goliaths called out, they summoned, and the other Grimm came. And the defenders, that had been so pressed, so stretched, could only watch as the horrors that had hounded them throughout history emerged.

The monsters broke into a sprint. With one plodding, lethargic step, the Goliaths came after them. The only consolation the defenders had as they prepared to receive the fresh assault, without even a poor imitation of a wall for protection, was that the Goliaths were injured.

They did not move as quickly as they did before. They dragged their feet along the ground as they attempted to climb their way out from the crater. The loose rocks on the slope were pulverized by their tremendous weight and it was almost too steep for them to traverse. They slipped downwards as the ground gave way. Blood flowed freely from a wound on the flank of one, the thick hide torn asunder by the explosion. It gave the defenders a chance if their backup plan failed.

Coco motioned Yatsuhashi and Fox to cover her position as she ran backwards, away from the oncoming horde. The ground was littered with bodies from the numerous times the Grimm had overrun their line only to be repulsed. This was another way for the Paladins to be useful, using their immense strength to pile corpses up against the walls. They were mainly black, but there far too many white-clad figures that had only been stripped of their weapons and ammo before being discarded. In a better world, they would have treated their dead with more respect than that, but that world was not the one they lived in.

Coco ran between the sickly mounds, only slowing down when she approached a line of a dozen Paladins hunkered down and guarding something. Slipping through their perimeter and the gap in the ten foot high temporary screens that had been established in a circle in the centre of a road, Coco paused despite herself.

Hundreds of times before she’d seen Velvet prepare to utilise her special abilities, but never on a scale such as this. Velvet hated it when her team called her a mage. She was adamant that she was a scientist. Patiently explaining the copious amount of equations on Dust ratios and reaction rates.

That didn't change that it was magic. It might have had a foundation in science, but Velvet had taken the well-known equations and made them her own. Science could peer-reviewed and identical results obtained by anyone who repeated the experiment. But no one at Beacon or the wider world, had been able to repeat what she did. Her techniques were as unique to her as her Semblance was.

In truth until today, few outside their team, the staff at Beacon, and the independent scientists, had ever seen Velvet attack with anything other than her limbs. Most thought her an extremely skilled martial artist, unfortunate enough to be born with a Semblance which wasn't useful in combat. Her demeanour didn't help. Anyone else who could do what she did would want to parade it in front of everyone. Velvet just wanted to be overlooked.

There was a reason why Velvet didn't like to spar in lessons and was usually excused. There was a reason why she didn't fight in the tournament despite her immense skills and the money she could have won to help support her family. Most thought her a coward. Coco herself had defended her teammate's honour multiple times. She at least understood Velvet's reasons.

Velvet refused to fight other people, even in training, not for her sake, but for theirs. The rest of her team knew that Velvet didn't have a weapon. That she would be unable to match them if they fought to the full of their abilities. So they didn't. They either sparred with her unarmed or at least gave her chances to dodge their blows, improving her defences. Someone who wasn't familiar with her wouldn't.

Coco had seen it time and time again, Velvet would be left beaten and bloodied on the floor as her opponent gloated at vanquishing one of the esteemed members of team CFVY so easily. They would loudly wonder at how such a weak fighter could possibly have gained a place at Beacon, and they would grow angry at how, despite losing almost every fight against her peers, her practical marks continued to far exceed theirs. Coco, like the rest of her team had wanted to explain it to them, but Velvet had forbade them. She certainly had a stronger resolve than Coco did. To put herself through the humiliation again and again, but she just didn't want the attention.

Not that her classmates would have believed her anyway. The reason why Velvet never won duels against her peers was she chose not to. She could either fight with her fists and lose, or utilise her Semblance and kill. That was her choice. Velvet had to dance a thin line and she chose humiliation and dishonour for her peers’ sake.

If Velvet had chosen to enter the tournament she likely would have won, and she likely would have left a trail of corpses behind her. If Velvet wanted to, she could beat the rest of her team in a fight, even all at once. Her timid, shy friend was probably the most deadly person she had ever met.

In moments Velvet could turn a battle on its head. Like she had earlier. Hundreds of Grimm had died in a matter of seconds. It was quick and dirty, without finesse. It took a massive toll on her body, but the evocation was always staggering to behold.

And that was not even the impressive part of skill set. That part lay on the road surface before Coco. Velvet may have hated anyone referring to her as a mage, but to look at what she had been doing in the confines of her makeshift enclosure for the past five hours, the only way to describe it was she had been preparing a spell.

Dust had been sprinkled on the asphalt. In intricate swirls and jagged shapes, a great pattern had been created under the sky. Each of the individual lines contained only one variety of Dust, but where Velvet deemed it necessary to use multiple Dust types the lines spiralled round each other, crossing over again and again. Where lines met, Dust crystals had placed in the powder, rested so they were pointing upwards.

Velvet may have called it science, indeed there were multiple pieces of paper stuck to the walls full of equations, but Velvet took an awful lot of inspiration from stories. There were many minor patterns drawn on the floor that tugged at her memories, but as always the thickest lines formed a pentagram that encompassed almost everything else.

For someone so intent on not being called a mage, Velvet borrowed an awful lot of her symbols from the mystical legends of the past. Scrambling around on the floor in the centre of her spell, using a paintbrush to carefully sweep any Dust that had been disturbed by the explosion back to its designated position, she looked every inch a sorceress.

A sorceress who was in pain. It was unfair that Faunus had such blatant tells, but her ears lay flat on her head, the tips curling past her face. If the shockwave had hurt Coco, it would have been infinitely worse for her friend.

Still Velvet hadn't let it stop her. None of them could. Not when the civilians were relying on them. So attentive to her task, Velvet hadn't noticed her presence which was a rarity. It had always been close to impossible to sneak up on her. Her nervous disposition and incredible hearing made sure of that.

"Velves are you ok?"

Velvet squeaked. It was adorable.

"You made me jump." It was an admonishing remark and Velvet reformed the line of Dust she had disturbed. "I'm fine. Are you ok? The others?"

"We're all good." It was mostly the truth. They were as good as any of the other defenders still fighting.

"They're still coming… aren't they?" Velvet spoke in a very small voice, which Coco's still ringing eardrums almost missed.

Her girlfriend had stopped, looking despondent at the question that they both knew the answer to. In her distress she had fallen back to old habits and hugged herself, whilst not meeting her eyes.

"They are. They're injured, but it didn't kill them."

"Oh…"

Coco knew exactly what was going through her partner's mind.

"Velvet, look at me. Look at me." Coco stepped carefully over the multi-coloured lines as she spoke before crouching down and softly lifting her friend's chin. "You can do this. I know you can."

"But I can't. I've never done anything on this scale before. I don't have enough Dust. I can't even begin to solve the equations I need to. I don't even know what I'm doing…" Tears began to gather in the corners of her large eyes.

"Velves, you do know what you're doing. I don't have the slightest idea how all this works, but you do. I've seen you do this a hundred times. I know how smart you are. All you have to do is believe in yourself, like I believe in you."

Velvet's biggest weakness was always her self-confidence, despite how great a huntress she was, she always had trouble merging the reality with her self-image. When it was just the four of them on a mission, the stakes were a lot lower. They could fight their way clear of pretty much anything if Velvet failed. That knowledge helped reduce her anxiety.

Now, with tens of thousands of people's lives resting on her slender shoulders, Velvet was buckling under the immense weight. It was unfair of them to put her in this position. Few would be able to cope under the pressure, especially not someone as nervous as she normally was, but Velvet was the only person who had a chance at taking those Goliaths down.

Over the years they had spent together Coco had found many ways of motivating her teammates and sometimes with Velvet it was better to be firmer. To not allow her to surrender to her fears.

"Velvet, you are doing this. Now what do you need me to do?" Coco's tone made it clear there was no room for discussion.

Velvet seemed to absorb some of her leader's strength, her arms unwrapping from her torso, before she breathed in deeply.

"No, there's nothing you can do. How much time do I have?"

"Forty five minutes. An hour. Perhaps more."

The only good things about Goliaths were that they were slow, and wounded as the pair were they would be even slower. But they were relentless. When they set the mind to a task, they would allow nothing to get in their way.

Velvet looked dismayed at that, but she retained some of her more confident posture. "Right, please stay safe and keep the others safe."

It was a dismissal, though tactfully done, Velvet obviously didn't want any more distractions. "Don't worry I will. Good luck Velves. Though I know you don't need it." She made her way to the gap in the enclosure before pausing at the sound of her name.

"Coco, thank you." Velvet gave her a small smile before turning back to her equations.

With full confidence in her partner, Coco left her behind and when confronted with the state of the battle outside the small island of tranquillity, broke into a sprint. Inspired by the Goliaths, the Grimm were attacking with a ferocity that belittled all their previous efforts. Only now the defenders didn't have any proper fortifications to receive them.

The piles of rubble that had once been the wall, still made the Grimm vulnerable as they were forced to scrabble over them, but it was by no means anywhere near as effective. The defensive line was bulging back, and in the section she was responsible for to boot.

The Paladins that had been shielding Velvet had been ordered into the fight, and more reserves were running into the engagement, most likely leached from the surrounding streets. The reinforcements may not have been enough, but Coco certainly wasn't going to let her section fall first.

Spotting a rifle lying discarded on the floor, she kicked it up, catching it with her weaker hand. The troops under her command had been pushed back from the rubble, only standing firm around her teammates and Professor Port. The normal soldiers with their ranged weapons were just incapable of holding their ground beneath the onslaught.

Coco headed for the area that seemed most likely to devolve into a chaotic mass. Slipping through the line and using the momentum of her charge, she slammed her handbag into the neck of a Beowolf and at the same time unloaded the rifle into the maw of an Ursa rearing over an Atlesian soldier. Ripping through the soft roof of the Ursa's mouth, the bullets tore into the Grimm's brain dropping it next to Beowolf.

Flinging the spent rifle at the head of a Creep, she had the room that was needed. The unmistakable sound of Reine de Beauté drowned out all the other noises of combat, and Coco was given a stark reminder why she normally tried not to use it from point blank range. From point blank range it was… messy.

The Grimm nearest her didn't really get shot. As the multiple high calibre rounds passed through their flesh and each sent competing pressure waves surging against each other, the confluence of forces tore bodies asunder.

Coco and everyone near her was drenched with gore as a cone of the Grimm that had made it over the barricade were scythed down. Very aware of her diminishing ammo supply, her primary targets were the more dangerous Grimm, and although dozens of Grimm had been taken out of action by her intervention, all too soon the vibrations from Reine de Beauté ceased.

"Push them back!" Coco screamed, hoping that her troops would be following her as she waded into the gap her brief attack had carved.

One of the major limitations of her weapon was that when out of rounds, with its reduced mass, it became a less viable melee weapon. What would have previously taken a single hit, now took multiple. The extra time she had to spend dealing with her enemies was proving detrimental.

Luckily, help came in the humungous form of Yatsuhashi. With his giant sword and incredible strength, he was perfectly suited to fighting against massed enemies. A single swing could pass through multiple bodies, and his bulk was enough to make even an Ursa consider testing their weight against his.

With the two hunters driving deep into their ranks at a point of a wedge that could simply not be resisted, and Fox and Port doing the same, the troops rallied. The Grimm suddenly found themselves assaulted on multiple sides and with their flanks vulnerable, began to fall more rapidly.

Step by step the defenders pushed them back, forced them to retreat over their dead and dying, until they were pinned against the ruined fortifications that minutes earlier they had breached so triumphantly.

Coco's everything was aching by the time they’d sent the last lone Beowolf fleeing. Numerous cuts were slowly healing on her body and her mouth was entirely parched. Some of the soldiers had collapsed to their knees or backsides and Coco longed to join them, but as their commander she knew she couldn't. It was her duty to be an example to everyone else. So she remained standing and reviewed the tactical situation.

It was bad, but at least they were still holding. All along the line, the defenders had pushed the Grimm back past their meagre barricades, and were taking a well-earned break in the temporary absence of combat.

It would only be temporary because, as the sun crept higher in the sky, the Goliaths were getting ever closer. They were close enough now that every step sent the slightest tremor through the earth. The two towering Grimm were quite simply colossal and, for the first time, Coco felt that Velvet's skills might not be enough.

They managed to withstand two more sustained assaults by the Grimm before they stopped attacking and instead scampered around the two Goliaths. It was not necessarily advisable. The Goliaths did not hesitate to crush one of their brethren underfoot if they got in the way but, as the Grimm worked each other up into a heated frenzy, none of them really seemed to care.

And none seemed to care about the mist that began forming despite the sun beating down. It materialised in little patches at first. Small globes of water vapour that pulsed, barely noticeable, but soon increased in size, tendrils flitting outwards in slender strings. The Grimm plunged through them.

The mist continued to grow, hanging close to the ground. The small patches coalescing as more and more materialised. Coco looked behind her. Velvet was visible to all. Standing upright, ears erect and stiff, hand extended, she was bathed in blue and red light as some of the Dust in her design was activated.

Though Velvet's Semblance was the ability to create mist ̶ ̶ a fitting Semblance for someone who desired to hide so often as she ̶ ̶ when a larger quantity was required, she supplemented it by using Red and Blue Dust to created steam, before using more Blue to condense it. On the road, the mist formed a sheet a hundred feet long and five feet high. Every second it climbed upwards, daring the sun to try and scatter it.

The Grimm, most of who were now entirely submerged, had begun to react to their situation. Their howls and grunts changed from anticipative to concerned, though from within the mist they were oddly muted. Only the Goliaths were still visible.

The wall of mist continued to climb, continued to spread, until it hit the buildings on either side, pouring over their rooftops. The face nearest them rolled forwards like a wave breaking. But still Velvet created more. It seemed like the entire neighbourhood was destined to be buried underneath the unnatural occurrence.

Only when it had risen dozens of feet higher than the tops of the Goliaths did its growth slow. The monstrous Grimm gave cries of their displeasure at having their sight robbed from them. Though they probably believed that was the extent of the attack, they were wrong.

Like all people with an external Semblance, Velvet could infuse hers with Dust. She had done so earlier with the quick evocation that had saved Coco's life, but now she had an awful lot more mist and Dust to utilise.

White light, with a hint of brown, bathed Velvet, and an equally radiant light became visible even through the thick mist. The sources were distorted, but they were recognisable as stone cylinders laced with white veins. They’d latched around the Goliath's limbs. The steady tremors, that had heralded the Goliath's progress, ceased as they found themselves unable to break the incandescent shackles that held them in place.

Applications of Dust often made a mockery of conventionally understood physics. Goliaths were among the most powerful Grimm on the planet, but in the embrace of impossibly tough restraints, even their great strength was useless.

With enough White Dust, Velvet could have held them immobile for days, but they didn't have it. White Dust was the most valuable and the rarest. Paradoxically, it was also technically the most common. Most people didn't realise that, unless they took advance Dust courses.

Most people saw Dust being used as a power source and believed it supplied energy, when in fact the opposite was true. Dust was an energy sink. Every single particle of Dust started life as White Dust, but when exposed to any form of energy it absorbed it.

If you were to throw a White Dust crystal into a fire, it would come out as Red one. A White crystal exposed to a storm would become Yellow. Near fault lines they would absorb the very energies of the planet and become Brown. All the stored energy could then be released in the way most people understood.

White Dust was so hungry for energy, it was incredibly uncommon to find. A crystal would have had to be entirely untouched by outside forces since its very creation. When a miner stumbled across even a single crystal, the entire mine was shut down, sterilised as best as possible, and experts took over.

They were that important. White Dust could be used in so many different and unique ways. At the moment Velvet was using it to absorb the kinetic energy of the Goliaths. No matter how much they struggled their efforts would be in vain.

It was the first time Velvet had ever used White Dust, but that wasn't surprising. If normal Dust was expensive, the price of white Dust was obscene. That was once again thanks to the Schnees. No one knew how much White Dust they managed to mine every year, but they only released the smallest volume for sale. The artificially reduced quantity pushed the demand through the roof, until only the very richest could afford even a single crystal.

Coco knew that her family had some stored in their vaults, and Beacon had somehow managed to amass a little more. But for most, it was something you stockpiled and never used. Always believing tomorrow's need would be greater than today's.

Velvet had never so much as looked on a crystal before today though, as a Dust prodigy, she had at least studied it. Emptying Beacon's vault had barely yielded enough to last for more than a couple of minutes, but the shackles were only the first step.

There was a flash of blue and the entire volume of mist rushed inwards as its temperature plummeted. Almost in an instant, the mist condensed before freezing solid. Trapping the Grimm within its icy embrace.

Unstable overhangs and spires near the fringes cracked and fell, shattering on the road surface, but the block of ice was too colossal for those to account for more than a tiny percentage of its total mass. Almost an entire street had been turned into a cerulean sculpture. It had an air of ethereal beauty. The sunlight refracted off the many spikes and fractals on its surface, and it dazzled those who were watching. But none missed the clouded shapes that were still straining within its confines. Though debilitating, the ice alone would not stop the Grimm from fulfilling their purpose.

The sunlight may have been dazzling, but the intense golden light that reflected from the many faceted mirror was blinding. Not one person watching failed to turn around in an attempt to locate its source.

Velvet was barely visible anymore. Even with the sunglasses she had hastily thrown on, Coco could only just manage to pierce the veil of brilliant illumination to see a figure standing resplendent in the centre of the pentagram that had just ignited.

This was the crux of Velvet's plan, though the design she had drawn on the floor had contained copious amounts of Blue, Red, Brown, and some White Dust, the majority had been yellow. Normally it was could be used to gift a person literally lightning fast reaction times and movement speeds, but what Velvet was attempting was a lot harder. In either her genius or madness, she was attempting to inverse the process.

Golden light wreathed around her as she manipulated the flows of time within the mist, sending them racing. In the seconds that the defenders had watched her, minutes had passed for the Grimm. As Velvet poured more and more energy into her creation, the disparity in the rates of time only increased.

If any of the Grimm had managed to break free of their prison, they would have been unstoppable, the latent effects of the Dust rendering them close to untouchable. But Velvet had judged it well. None managed to escape the ice. They didn't have the strength.

Despite the attempts to study them over the millennia they had been a threat, the Grimm still widely confounded the scientists. They were just too strange. Too foreign. They shouldn't have been able to live at all, but they did.

It was widely known that they did not need to eat to survive. They only hunted people instead of animals, but in captivity the Grimm had been known to survive almost indefinitely without food. They obviously had another way of garnering energy, one which didn't involve the chemical release of sustenance, but none had managed to be proved.

It didn’t matter what the source was. In the grips of Velvet's control, the Grimm received nothing. The number of photons entering the ice in a second, was spread over months for those inside. The delivery of thermal energy from the surface of the planet was reduced to almost nothing. Bereft of all forms of possible energy, the Grimm inside burned through their reserves, and even the great Goliaths stopped straining against their iridescent shackles.

Violet flashes erupted from the surface of the ice. High energy particles, travelling many times the speed of light in reference to the outside world, passed over the discontinuity at the edge of the medium and instantly shed their excess velocity in an intense burst of Cherenkov radiation. It happened intermediately at first, but only became more frequent as the time differential kept increasing. The defenders were forced to take shelter from the radiance that seared and burned everything near it.

As more and more energy bled out of the icy enclosure, the temperature plummeted, dropping well past the freezing point of water, and approaching the absolute dearth of thermal energy. And still Velvet was illuminated in golden light.

Years morphed into decades. The hardy bodies of the Grimm began to fail them, all their internal processes grinding to a halt. Even the Goliaths, whose hides made them almost immune to any attack, had no immunity against the passage of time.

In the lonely decades that crawled past, they undoubtedly tried desperately to break free. Perhaps they reflected on the error of judgement that brought them her. And as their organs shut down over decades, maybe, just maybe, they reached a plateau of intelligence that towered over any other thing in existence.

But even their indomitable will could not hold off the cruel embrace of decay. Their thought processes ticked ever slower, until finally they halted. And still Velvet did not let up; she had no way of knowing that the Grimm had died, or any inclination to give them the possibility of being revived when she stopped.

Decades turned to centuries. Near absolute zero, the most fundamental processes of physics began to fail. Weak interactions were forsaken in the pursuit of reducing entropy. The complicated compounds that made up the bodies of the Grimm broke down, their shapes becoming less defined.

Only as millennia passed within the ice, did the yellow glow around Velvet finally start to peter out. The last remnants of the Dust were consumed in a flash as thunder erupted from a clear sky. With yellow incandescence on one side of them and searing radiation on the other, most on the street were completely blinded. They did not see the forks of lighting strike the ice, but they all heard it shatter.

The colossal structure which had spent millennia in a dearth of heat, had been made brittle by the passage of time. Beset by both the lightning and the unbearably warm air, thousands of pieces crashed to the ground.

With the collapse of the time differential, the immense cold was finally allowed to propagate to the outside world. Artic winds rose up as the temperature plummeted to well below the freezing. The perspiration prevalent on all the defenders froze solid. The heat of their bodies stolen by the immense thermal sink Velvet had created.

With teeth chattering, Coco saw Velvet move her arm and fires sprang up between the defenders and the ice, they weren't remotely large enough to remove the chill, but they managed to stop it being fatal. The final act of her plan set into motion, Velvet finally gave way to her bodies will and collapsed.

Coco ran, her clothes cracked where they had been made brittle by ice, but that didn't even register on her mind. Her only concern was for the frail health of her partner, who’d once again sacrificed it to help all those around her.

Falling to her knees beside Velvet, terror latched onto her as she found her girlfriend had around the same responsiveness to her desperate touch as a corpse. Her cheeks were entirely devoid of blood. Her ears, always moving and twitching, lay limp on the ground. Coco had always feared that one day Velvet might push herself too far, and today she had.

The gentle giant who slid to a stop next to her had a lot more experience helping Velvet after she cast one of her spells. The size disparity between the two teammates was ridiculous. All it would have taken was a single finger and thumb to end her life. But despite his intimidating appearance, those who were close to him knew there was not a malicious bone in his body.

His movements were incredibly tender as he took her pulse, listened to her breathing, before holding a small vial beneath her nose. The effect was almost instantaneous. Velvet coughed, and Coco was incredibly relieved to see that the spark that made Velvet so special was still visible in the dark brown eyes.

Velvet looked around blearily at the shadows looming over her, before an unfocused smile appeared on her lips when she recognised who the shapes belonged to. Velvet fixed them with a stare and said in an almost sing song voice. "I did it."

Before Coco could reply, Velvet's eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out. Despite Yatsuhashi's numerous assurances that Velvet was merely exhausted and just needed rest, Coco still felt she should be doing more for her partner's wellbeing. The only contribution she had made was the gift of her jumper and scarf when Velvet had shivered in the frigid air. It wasn't enough.

Though the sounds of fighting were audible from other streets, their one was safe for the first time in hours. The deaths of the Goliaths and the horde around them, had robbed much of the tenacity from the Grimm. Few were willing to brave the artic landscape on the road in front of the soldiers.

Most of the defenders were still trying to piece together what they had seen. Though discipline kept most to their positions, a few had come to see the small teenage girl who had managed the impossible and killed two Goliaths. By _herself_. Coco unconsciously shielded her shy friend from their gaze as her other teammates warned them off.

It was only when a figure stood over the pair of them and did not move, that Coco finally took her gaze off Velvet's pale face and looked up at her headmaster.

If Coco had been in a better state of mind, she would have noticed the differences in his stance, his demeanour, from the person she had gotten to know over her time at Beacon. She would have noticed the barely constrained fury that caused the muscles of his jaw to twitch as he looked upon one of his injured students. And she would certainly have noticed that Ozpin had his hand clenched tightly around the hilt of a thin white sword. But she saw none of that.

When Ozpin finally spoke, his voice was dreadfully hard. "Get her to the air dock. I will take it from here."

Ozpin strode past his pupils and headed towards the front line.


	18. Chapter 18

Ruby supposed they’d been lucky. Being this far from the breach in the wall and the industrial zone the White Fang were operating out of, meant that their position had been relatively quiet. Only… the sniper.

In the few minutes of combat he’d managed to down five of them. Once again Blake’s experience showed in her reacting so quickly to muted sound of the suppressed shots and formulating a plan to deal with the sharpshooter. But when Ruby had him in her sights and had gone to press the trigger, she’d hesitated. Her squeamishness had almost cost Yang her life.

As it was her sister had managed to shake off most of the impact. The subsonic rounds had less energy than their supersonic counterparts. The bullet had bruised her sternum. Though upon falling Yang had almost immediately bounced back to the top of the wall, streaming flames. It was too late. Ruby had taken her shot.

It had been so simple. It shouldn't have been. Taking a life should have had more import. It should have been harder. Ending someone's existence shouldn't have been reduced to just utilising a simple lever mechanism.

In the past she had always tried not to kill. In fights against Torchwick's goons or the White Fang, she’d always struck with the back of Crescent Rose. It was a childish notion. One that had now been stolen from her.

It was plain to her now, as much as it must have been before, that she simply didn't have it in her to kill. After taking the shot, her hands had worked mechanically, cycling the bolt, making ready to fire again. But when no more targets had presented themselves, with unsteady fingers she’d applied the safety before laying Crescent Rose down gently.

Trying to hide her feelings had been useless. After Weiss and Yang had leapt off the wall to scout the rest of the area, Blake had limped over to her. She hadn't said anything. Perhaps she had known that no words would have helped. All she’d done was place a hand in the small of her back. The steady comfort was enough. Not for her to come to terms with what she had done, that would take far longer, but it allowed her to focus on the present.

Yang had returned carrying the rifle the sharpshooter had used and passed it off to Blake who checked its condition expertly. That surprise was a blessed distraction as Blake had never shown any previous inclination to long range combat. After that brief incursion, over the course of a few hours the sounds of combat had steadily ramped up in the streets to the south of them.

The troops who returned told them of the plan to take down the two Goliaths, but there was a large difference between hearing that they planned to detonate a large bomb, and actually having it happen.

The shockwave had been a physical assault on all their senses. Every window in the street had shattered in an instant, and the rolling of the ground had thrown several people off their feet and sent cracks racing through the walls.

Coughing the wave of dust from their lungs, they’d all been forced to duck and take cover as debris rained from the sky. Never would she have expected anything to have been able to survive the explosion when the effects of it have been so severe even to them as distant as they were, but unmistakably, the cries of the two Goliaths had risen out over the city.

Even though the Grimm would undoubtedly break through the centre of the line, Ruby had resisted the urge to attempt to reinforce it. It was just as well. More and more of the streets came under attack, this time from the Knights controlled by the White Fang.

At least that was what Erashan had reported when he’d arrived at their position. When questioned, he’d replied in his usual respectful tone when addressing a member of the family he served.

"Your sister has instructed me to ensure that you, and your team, make it onto the transports."

With that issue out of the way Erashan had turned to Ruby and asked about her plans for the defence of her section. It was something she had put a lot of thought into. In reality the only people she could count on were the rest of her team and the few Atlesian troops. The rest of the conscripts would most likely not be able to withstand a single attack.

The wall helped, but only against the Grimm. The Knights, with their superior firepower, would be able to pick them off at their leisure. There was also the problem that RWBY excelled at close combat. Only Crescent Rose and some of Weiss' glyphs gave them any real long range potential. Her plan in the event that they were engaged, which she had explained to the very visible relief of some of the conscripts, was for RWBY to abandon the fortifications and engage any threats on their terms.

So it came to it that she was hiding with Yang in a house down the street, listening to the steady beat of Knights jogging ever closer. It sounded like there were an awful lot of them.

Ruby peeked through the broken window at the house where Weiss was waiting. It was just as well Erashan was with them to make up the numbers. Despite how much it had wounded her pride, Blake had admitted she was in no condition to be involved in close quarters combat, and had compromised by saying she would use the captured rifle to support them from a distance. In all honesty she would have felt more comfortable with Weiss by her side, but Erashan had flatly refused to be separated from his charge.

Ducking down as she caught first sight of the Knights, Ruby counted them go past, praying their plan would hold. With luck they would continue down the street, past her precarious hiding place, and then stop and engage the wall when they reached the optimal range for their rifles.

But a wise Atlesian General had once said _‘ _No battle plan survives contact with the enemy’__ and it proved true again. When only twenty or so Knights had marched past their position, a shot rang out. The report labelled it as of a smaller calibre. A sidearm likely issued to one of the conscripts. A better soldier would have held their fire but the terrified civilian hadn't.

The pistol would have been mostly useless against the Knights anyway, let alone from that range. But the single shot soon gave way to a cascade as the other conscripts thought they had missed the order to open fire.

With their carefully laid plans in tatters, it seemed as though they had all made the same split second decision. As Ruby hopped out the window, the familiar sound of one of Weiss' glyphs was audible from across the road.

Ruby dashed forward, trailing petals in her wake. Deploying Crescent Rose, she swung at the Knight nearest her, already planning her next move. But there was no familiar feeling of resistance as it sheared through composite armour. Instead it almost lurched from her grasp as the Knight redirected her swing.

Even as she was still coming to terms with her first missed strike, a second Knight attacked from the left. Ruby just managed to catch the thrust heading for her stomach on the haft. Her Semblance was the only thing that allowed her to spin and parry the next attack from the first Knight.

It was almost impossible. Crescent Rose just wasn't suited to this type of close quarters combat. The Knights were pressing her from well within her reach, not allowing her to gather the momentum she needed, and they were reacting fast, almost as fast as she was.

Ruby danced away from two more slashes. Her headlong dash to disrupt their formation now entirely reversed. She started backing up in an attempt to link up with her sister.

But every time she gained enough room to swing, the Knights closed on her, forcing her to defend herself. Her precious weapon was reduced to nothing more than an unwieldy staff as she was unable to bring the blade to bear. In its extended form, she didn't have the room to align the barrel with any of the five Knights pressing her.

Against one, or maybe even two, she would have been able to cope with their upgraded combat routines. Against five, every gap she managed to create in one of their defences was quickly filled by another. They fought as one single entity, perfectly in harmony. Despite her best efforts, one of their blades slipped through her precarious guard and scored a red line over her side.

They didn’t even give her time to cry out. Another assault came from the opposite direction, and it was all she could do to parry it. With the wetness spreading, Ruby tried to regroup with Yang, but the Knights corralled them, forcing them apart.

This was exactly what Qrow had told her never to let happen. To let herself get surrounded to the extent that her weapon was useless. As she desperately parried, she couldn't help but berate herself for allowing it to happen.

The aches and strains accumulated yesterday were flaring up again as she was forced to use her Semblance just to keep the Knights at arm's length with her unwieldy weapon. In the midst of combat her uncle's voice rose in her mind.

‘ _Ruby you possess one of the most deadly weapons ever created. Your enemies, even the Grimm will be scared of you and if they are not, you must show them why they should be_.’

Ruby hesitated at the thought. It cost her another hit. Another wound. But her uncle's words rang true. She was a huntress, not a victim. _Show them why._ The Knights couldn't feel afraid. All the more pity for them. Her opponent directly in front of her went down, its head blossoming outwards. The cause unknown, but that didn't bother her. It was what she needed.

Ruby attacked. She leaped forward, Semblance flaring to new heights, sweeping with a barrage of strikes at the Knight nearest her which crumpled backwards under her furious assault. She wasn't cornered or outnumbered, not unless she chose to be.

She slipped through the hole she’d created, and finally found the space to fire off a round. It was aimed at one of those suppressing the defenders on the wall, the Knight was thrown back, but it wasn't her real reason for firing. Her real aim was to finally get Crescent Rose moving in the way it deserved to be used.

The recoil sent it spinning backwards and, with Semblance-enhanced muscles, she added to that swing. The Knight tried to block it. It came so close, but she shifted her target just enough that her scythe hit its arm just above its blade. The tempered edge sheared through the limb. She maintained her momentum, ducking under a slash that had been destined for her neck before rolling away.

More Knights peeled away from the group in the opposite side of the street and ran towards her. _Let them._ At some point she had started screaming a war cry into the crisp morning air, but she was barely able to hear it. She leapt at her new opponents, daring her old ones to come after her.

Ruby poured more of her Aura into her Semblance. More than she ever had before. Until the familiar feeling in her stomach seemed fit to burst.

The wind rose up around her.

The first new Knight she encountered swung. It didn't look like it moved any slower, but it sure felt like it did. She ducked under the errant attack, rolling away from a thrust behind her, before springing over a third and squeezing between another pair. Conscious thoughts fled her mind. She let the rhythm of the fight consume her. Bury itself deep in her heart.

Where before Ruby had struggled against five Knights, now she fought a dozen. She still had trouble bringing her weapon to bear to do damage, but they no longer pressed her own defences. They couldn't.

Wind. That was what she had become. They couldn't catch the wind. It slipped through their fingers. They couldn't strike the wind. It flowed around their attacks. They couldn't stop the wind. That was entirely beyond them. The wind was an irrepressible force of nature. They were just created puppets.

Instinct guided her every movement. She didn't fight. She danced. Their blades slashed through the air where her body had been an instant before. Their forms slammed into her wake. It was easy. Far too easy. Easy enough that she felt she could have dodged them all with her eyes closed.

Easy enough that she didn't even have to give them her full attention. Yang was doing better than she’d been. Sending searing light into the sky, her sister was hammering punches into the Knights. They found their tactics of pressing close didn't work against someone who thrived on it.

Weiss was in much better shape as well, afforded the space to make use of her glyphs by the ferocious skills of her defender. On the train with Professor Oobleck, she’d been forced to confront the difference between students and fully trained hunters, and she was starkly reminded of it again.

Wielding his two black swords, Erashan flowed through the ranks of Knights attempting to encircle him, forcing them to turn their backs on Weiss and face the bigger threat. With every movement he sliced into them, limbs and head tumbling down in his wake. He fought with an efficiency of movement which was staggering. Where her dodges were energetic, his were serene. He moved just enough for their attacks to miss him by hairsbreadths, and his ripostes used their own momentum against them, the Knights almost falling onto his blades.

With all of them beginning to gain the upper hand, the Knights supressing the wall turned and attempted to take them down. They shouldn't have even tried. The wind still whipped through the street, Erashan and Weiss still tore through them, and Yang had started laughing at their attempts to hurt her, her Semblance only gaining in power. And more Knights dropped to the floor with shattered skulls.

Ruby pushed herself harder, retracting Crescent Rose into its rifle configuration ̶ ̶ no longer needing it to parry strikes, not when they weren't remotely close to being able to hit her ̶ ̶ and began firing at the Knights from point blank range.

The spent cartridges hung in the air for an unnaturally long time, joining the petals that were caught up in the currents trailing her. The Knights were simply unable to cope with any of them. Even when they outnumbered them, they were still just robots. They weren't fighting for anything. She was. She was fighting for her home, and all the people in it.

Ducking under a slash and firing into a knee, vibrations in the wind told her of two approaching Paladins. They shouldn't have come. Perhaps they thought the Knights would have tired them out enough. Perhaps they thought this street would be easier for them to pass through. They didn't know her team, the best team at Beacon, were here. Well, they would learn.

Previously two Paladins might have troubled even RWBY, but not today. Not when she felt like this. The dozen Knights left were barely an obstacle as she threaded her way through them, occasionally downing one, and made her way over to her partner.

"Weiss, Ice Flower." Ruby bounced impatiently on the spot.

Weiss was only now turning her head to face her, azure eyes widening in shock. _W _hy was she reacting so slowly__?

"Weiss, Ice Flower," Ruby repeated, pointing to the Paladins that should have been closer than they were.

Weiss rotated her head to follow Ruby's finger and, after an age, the glyphs finally sprang into existence in front of them. Ruby fired as quickly as she could. Her bullets infused with Dust as they passed through Weiss' glyphs, and where they struck the Paladins, ice blossomed.

As usual her aim was excellent. The slow advance of the Paladins ground to a halt as the servos in their joints struggled to break through the obstructions. Normally it would have taken their entire team to neutralise a Paladin, but today, Ruby knew she could do it by herself.

She took a brief heartbeat to down two more Knights on her way over to the Paladins. Finally having the room to use a fully extended Crescent Rose it was so easy, two quick slashes and she left them with their heads still hanging in the air. There was only a single Knight between her and the two immobilised Paladins. _T _oo easy.__ _S_ he surged forward, the wind caressing her skin.

Her Aura ran out.

It happened in an instant. One moment she’d been running. The next her trailing leg couldn't get in front of the other fast enough to support her dash. The road surface shredded her clothes and ripped her skin as she slid along it at tremendous speed. Her mind still trying to catch up with the world that had suddenly managed to catch up with her.

Her soft body slammed into the Knight’s synthetic legs. It hurt. They were both sent sprawling by the impact. Whereas it was one more thing for her overloaded brain to process, the Knight managed to roll back to its feet and pounce at her.

For a brief moment, Ruby regained the clarity that had been provided by her Semblance. She saw the Knight in the air above her with blades outstretched. She saw Crescent Rose skidding away. And she knew she wouldn't be able to stop the Knight striking her. The only thing she could do was to try and make sure the blow wasn't fatal.

Ruby presented her right side, hoping it wouldn't pierce a lung. She gritted her teeth. A white glyph appeared above her. The Knights blade rang cleanly as it struck. Not one to waste an unexpected opportunity, Ruby carried on rolling.

She needn't have bothered. The Knight's skull jerked as a round penetrated it. Its inert body almost fell on top of her. Deflecting it to the side with pained arms, she remembered that it had just been an obstacle on the way to her real targets.

The Paladins lumbered towards her. Ruby tried to force herself up, but just couldn’t. With her Aura expended, it was too painful.

Some of Weiss' projectiles impacted some of the cameras. The heiress herself flew past, bouncing on a glyph before burying Myrtenaster with pinpoint precision into one of the sensor relays.

Erashan followed hot on her heels. He sized up his opponents, and attacked the other. It managed to loose a slew of rounds at him, but they merely stirred his jacked as he twisted. Now underneath it, he swung one of his black swords at its leg.

It was a foolhardy attack. The Paladin was designed to withstand strikes from the largest of Grimm. No matter how sharp the blade was, it would simply bounce off the armour. Or so Ruby thought. What she hadn't anticipated was that part way through his swing, the colour of his sword shifted, turning from the shade of the darkest night to the most brilliant day.

The radiant white blade passed cleanly through the inch of amour, the metal that made up the rest of the leg, and out the other side. Meeting the same resistance one might have expected from the air. The mech jolted as its severed limb slipped out from under it, and it tumbled to the floor.

White flared from his other blade as Erashan pivoted. He sliced through the midsection of the mech before lopping off an arm. With that Paladin disabled, he leapt towards the other. The pilot most likely didn't know how their comrade had been taken down so quickly, but it didn't matter.

A brilliant sword severed its leg before Erashan reversed the grip on his other and thrust it out behind him, curving it up and into the cockpit. The mech spasmed before falling slowly to the side. The other was immobile, smoke billowing from it. Erashan's blades reverted to midnight black.

Save for the sputtering of the ruined mech and the sound of Yang crushing the heads of the Knights who were still intent on their destruction despite the lack of limbs, the street was quiet. Gasping as the rash on her side burned hot, Ruby pushed herself up to her knees and checked on her team.

Yang looked battered. Blood marred her clothes and the fabric was rent in multiple places, but judging by the small motes of flame trickling down her body, and how she was taking her pent up aggression on the Knights, she was probably ok.

The same could be said for Weiss. Shielded from the worst by her protector, she was relatively unscathed. Blake didn't appear to have picked up any more injuries in addition to her previous ones as she limped over to them, the rifle over her shoulder. At a better time, Ruby decided she would have to interrogate her teammate on where she had learnt to use a rifle like that.

In fact, Ruby knew she’d probably come out of the fight worse than all of them. The earlier cut had mostly sealed, but the rash was still open to the air. She still couldn't quite understand what had happened. In the fight she’d reached a level previously untouched by her and then, suddenly and without warning, her Aura had just run out. Completely. It had never happened like that before. Normally if she pushed herself too far, her Semblance would slow down gradually rather than fall off a cliff.

But in the middle of the fight that _feeling_. Of being untouchable. Ethereal. The burst of clarity that had allowed her to flow through a dozen Knights, and for them not to even remotely close to tagging her. The feeling that she was more than herself. Somehow part of something bigger. That she was connected to everything. She longed to feel it again.

Her attention was diverted by a crash as the ruined Paladin's cockpit door flew outwards in a burst of smoke. Its pilot crawled out. The Faunus looked pitiful, dragging themselves along the ground. He couldn't have been out of his teens.

The member of the White Fang rolled onto his back as a shape loomed over him. He raised his hands in surrender. Weiss looked down on the person lying at her feet, her face completely expressionless. With a terrible slowness, she moved the point of Myrtenaster until it rested under his chin and, after a pause, smoothly pushed it into his yielding flesh. Blood rose from his mouth and crimson splattered her boots as his final few breaths exited his lungs in a cough. Weiss continued to watch the wretched end to his life.

The act had been carried out so coldly Ruby knew it should have shocked her, but the worse thing was, it didn't. After everything that happened, everything that she had been through, at this moment, it barely even fazed her. Maybe afterwards it would, but at the moment she was just too tired.

It was only after Weiss noticed the blood trickling down her side, did her partner’s face fill with emotion once more. Worried and frightened, Weiss rushed over to her. It was all Ruby could do to keep shaking hands from stripping her clothes off right there to treat her.

"Weiss I'm ok." Ruby tried to smile for her girlfriend. The expression felt so foreign on her lips.

It didn't help. Weiss continued to fuss over her and—once Blake had managed to calm Yang down—her sister was insistent on caring for her as well. It was a relief when Erashan reminded them that perhaps the middle of the street wasn't the best place to be giving first aid. Suitably chastened, Weiss and Yang had even allowed her to walk back to the wall under her own power.

The sun dimmed. Or that was how it seemed. Violet burst from a source hidden behind buildings and bounced off the clouds and pillars of smoke in the sky. The reflections were so intense they illuminated the entirety of Vale, drowning the city in a blue hue.

But by far the strangest thing was that no sound accompanied the light, whatever the source was, it was entirely, eerily silent. Everyone on their street had frozen to look at it. Even the fighting on adjacent streets had temporarily paused. The vibrancy of the light only continued to increase as Erashan got them all moving.

Thankfully Weiss performed her stairway trick again, but even the normal radiance of the glyphs was eclipsed by whatever was happening further down the line.

Now behind the wall, Ruby finally had to submit to her partner's ministrations. Weiss winced when she saw the expanse of red, ruined skin underneath Ruby's shirt.

"Ruby…" Weiss shook her head. "You're… you're hurt…" she finished limply.

Ruby saw the tear welling in the corner of her partner's eye. Ever since they’d coaxed Weiss from her shell, it had been apparent that she had trouble separating the pain of others from her own.

"It's not that bad. It just stings a little." Judging by the glare she received Weiss didn't buy her care-free attitude.

"Not that bad…" Weiss shook her head again before extracting a bottle from the small medical kit on her belt. "This… is going to hurt… I'm sorry."

Yang wrapped her arms tightly around her sister's torso, both to provide comfort and to restrain her. Even with Weiss' warning, Ruby wasn't prepared for her partner to pour liquid fire onto her side. A scream almost escaped her, before she clamped her teeth down on the edge of her cloak.

An apology followed every tremor that racked Ruby's body, but Weiss continued to clean the wound as quickly and as gently as she was able. Tears had worked their way down Weiss' face by the time she’d finished, but she managed to meet Ruby's gaze with a smile.

It was at this point that Ruby realised that Weiss' teeth and hair were no longer tinted violet. The light had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Looking down at Weiss, Ruby once again counted her blessings that she was her partner, her friend, and her girlfriend. Taking cool hands in her own, Ruby pulled Weiss to her feet and embraced her gently.

"Thank you.” For a moment Ruby just breathed in Weiss' scent, weak lavender perfume almost overpowered by the tang of sweat that was unmistakably her partner's. Surrounded by Weiss, Ruby could almost forget everything that was happening, almost.

"Do any of you know what that light thing was?" Ruby asked.

Ruby jumped when Erashan spoke. He was only an arm's length away from them all, but like normal he had managed to escape her notice. He was just too good at blending into the background.

"It was likely the result of the secondary plan to deal with the Goliaths."

"It was." Ozpin's sombre voice joined their conversation.

The first thing Ruby noticed was the barely restrained anger that was still apparent in tone. The second was that he was holding a weapon in his hand. In all honesty it was kind of disappointing. From the complexity of the mechanisms in his office, Ruby had expected something more elaborate than just a simple, if strangely coloured, sword.

"You have done brilliantly well. The civilians have been evacuated. You are to fall back to air dock to board the last freighter." He turned away from them and made to climb the makeshift steps to top of the wall.

"Sir, what about you?" Ruby started after him.

Ozpin turned back and fixed her with his penetrating gaze. "I will cover your withdrawal. All those under you command are relying on you Ruby. Do not let them down." He dropped down to the street beyond the wall.

For a moment watched his solitary walk towards the city. She wanted to go with him, but she had a duty to those under her. She raised her voice. "Ok, everyone we are falling back to the air dock. Make sure you pick up the supplies that have been assigned to you and then listen to your section leaders."

She still didn't feel all that comfortable giving orders to grizzled soldiers so much older than her, but it was her responsibility. All those around her, apart from her team and Erashan, sprang into action, picking up the food and water that had been pre-packaged. Though the majority of supplies in Beacon should have already been loaded onto the freighters, any more they could bring would only help. But regardless, they would all likely go hungry on their trip to Atlas.

A few of the conscripts had looks of utter relief on their faces. Despite her reassurances that their chance to evacuate would come, she knew many of them had not believed her. Now they knew who was covering her retreat.

Professor Ozpin himself had relieved them, but why? Surely the main road would have been more important. Were her team to be allowed to evacuate, whilst everyone stayed behind? Just because Professor Ozpin had selected them? That would leave her with almost too much guilt to deal with.

From the streets either side of them the other defenders emerged, only adding to her questions of who was sacrificing themselves, and when it had been decided. It was only possible to speak for herself and not her team, but she would have volunteered. Helping others was what huntresses were meant to do. No matter the personal cost.

Cowardice, not relief, was the only emotion filling her as she entered the gates of Beacon. Judging by the expression on the faces of the rest of RWBY, they were feeling the same. The change in the grounds from yesterday was dramatic. Where before there had been an endless sea of people, now there was just flattened grass and refuse.

Ahead of them were hundreds of people, both soldiers and other students. Surely too many of them. Just who was shielding their retreat? The question reared up again. Who could have replace the hundreds of people that were in front of her?

Her first thought was the hunters and the teachers, but she could see Professor Oobleck directing everyone towards the hovering freighter, and there were other hunters in the crowd. Ruby was at a loss. Had the other roads been left undefended?

"You four come with me." Erashan led them away from the throng and towards the landing pads and hangars where Beacon's own aircraft were stored. On the lawns nearer the air dock, the Paladins that had been used to defend the academy had been abandoned by their pilots. Soldiers in black armour were busy wrapping wires around their joints.

There were even more of the forces that Weiss said belonged to the SDC around the landing pads. There were four aircraft waiting ready for take-off. Two were familiar to Ruby, Bullheads belonging to Beacon which they’d all used multiple times. The other aircraft were not.

Covered in a coat of black paint that seemed to absorb the light, they were much larger than the dropships. They had sleek lines that spoke of speed. Where the Bullheads engines thrummed, theirs were whisper quiet.

There were a number of people waiting near them, the entirety of CFVY, most of the teachers of Beacon, more black clad soldiers, Professor Goodwitch, and Winter. The last two were involved in a heated discussion. Winter noticed them approach and broke away with an exasperated word.

"Fine, we don't have time for this. You four are going to be extracting on the Bullheads with Glynda. She insists it is her duty to see you to safety. Erashan, what's the status with the freighter?" Apart from a brief look of relief upon seeing Weiss, Winter had gotten straight down to business.

"They are finishing loading now. They should be departing in under five minutes." Erashan had obviously been in communication with the SDC crew.

"Good. Pull our troops back and get everyone on board the aircraft. Weiss, we will speak again when we land." Winter turned away from them.

Professor Goodwitch gestured them into the nearest Bullhead and Ruby gratefully sank down onto one of the hard seats alongside Velvet. Her friend's face was pale and slumped against the backrest. Noting Ruby's concern, Coco spoke over the top of her head.

"She's just tired. It took a lot out of her." Coco's finger lightly traced the back of Velvet's hand.

"I can hear, you know? I'm fine." Velvet's attempt to back up her words by sitting up was ruined by how her eyelids fluttered.

Professors Port, Oobleck, and Goodwitch entered before she appraised them all.

"First I want you to know how proud I am of all of you. For students what you have achieved is incredible." Glynda looked at each of them as she spoke. "But I also know you are all probably carrying injuries, and what I’m about to ask is incredibly unfair. I won't hold it against you if you refuse. But we are sitting here in safety because your headmaster. Professor Ozpin has taken it upon himself to buy it with his life. I do not intend to allow him to sacrifice himself. I would ask for your help to go and save him. You are among the best that Beacon has to offer. If anyone can do it, we can. This is in no way an order. I do not have that right, but I am asking you to help me save him." Her voice which had started out strong, had the hint of a crack by the end of her plea.

As an aspiring huntress Ruby knew there was only one possible choice that she could make. Exchanging glances with her team, she knew they’d made it as well. Ruby didn't reply. On a level that her teacher thought she needed to ask insulted them, but the sounds of them checking their weapons was answer enough.

The more surprising thing was that Coco hadn't immediately signalled her assent. The strongest fighter in Beacon was not looking at Glynda, but at the pale girl sitting next to her. Velvet returned the stare before speaking.

"Coco I'm fine. I know my own limits. I'm doing this. Are you going to be by my side?"

"Of course I am." Coco checked with the other members of her team. "Ok, we're in."

Relief ghosted over Glynda's features before her solemnity reasserted itself. "Thank you. I won't pretend to understand exactly what it is Professor Ozpin has done, but at some point he will need our help. We will fly in a holding pattern, before moving in to extract him. My colleagues and I will engage any hostiles, while it is your task to make sure he gets on-board."

The floor lurched under them as the Bullhead took off. They’d only risen a few dozen feet in height before the pilot's calm voice sounded over the communication system. "Brace for turbulence."

Ruby only just managed to grab the handle over her head, before the compartment was filled with blinding light. The aircraft rocked alarmingly as searing winds buffeted it. On the ground the Paladins were burning. The cord the SDC troops had wrapped around them had ignited, melting through their armour and seizing their joints solid. Having not been able to fit them on the freighters, it was better to destroy them than allow them to be used by the enemy.

As they rose higher, Ruby made her way to doorway to look out over Vale. From this height, it was even worse than it appeared on the ground. The sheer scale of the destruction was staggering. There didn't appear to be a single street that wasn't a victim of fighting, and smoke still curled lazily into the air from multiple sources.

Though the street they had been assigned to guard had been relatively calm, others had still been under attack right up until Professor Ozpin had arrived. But now they were eerily quiet. Nothing at all moved on them, even the headmaster was nowhere to be seen.

Ruby still didn't quite get how he’d managed to relieve everyone at once. Surely Professor Goodwitch would have mentioned if they were searching for other people. That she hadn't indicated she thought he was alone, and somehow capable of driving back all the forces that had been arrayed against them. By himself.

"What the hell are you doing! Why are you flying towards the city!" Winter's voice crackled through the speakers overhead.

Glynda pulled a headset with an attached microphone on. One of the SDC's ominous aircraft came abreast of the open door.

"We are going to save Professor Ozpin. Will you join us?"

"You will not while my sister is on board that aircraft!" Winter was irate.

"Weiss wanted to do this. She wanted to save the man who has saved so many lives today. Who is dying for us. For you. Will you let him sacrifice himself?"

There was silence for long enough for Weiss to pull a headset on herself. "Winter, we have to do this. It's the right thing to do. It's our duty."

"No it isn't. He knew the risks. Just like every soldier who has died in this city did. He would have known exactly what his sacrifice was buying. He would have thought it worth the cost and now you are jeopardising it all. Think about that." Winter appealed to all of them, but no one changed their mind.

"Winter if we can save him, we need to," Weiss said.

There was another minute of silence before Winter's angered tone was audible once more.

"We will cover you. Our aircraft have a lot more firepower and can sustain a lot more damage than yours." A triumphant, toothy smile graced Glynda's lips. "But Glynda, I am holding you personally responsible for my sister's well-being and regardless, this is not over!" The transmission cut off abruptly as Winter spat out the last words.

The two whisper quiet aircraft moved so they would intercept any fire coming from the city. Not that it looked likely. Even on the outskirts of the city proper there was still no sign of movement just dead Grimm, ruined Paladins, and dismembered Knights. But now they were closer, Ruby could pick up gunfire and howls over the roar of the engines.

"There he is!" Coco shouted from the doorway on the opposite side of the aircraft.

Ruby was just about to go over to her when a flurry of movement on the ground caught her eye. Between two tall buildings, three Ursai charged a solitary figure striding towards them. As the tonnes of ferocious muscle and flesh bore down on him, Ozpin barely broke stride.

He leant back just enough for the initial swipe to stir the air next to his face before his sword flashed out. It didn't so much as bite into the Grimm, rather it just happened by chance to follow a path already carved into its flesh. The Ursa's momentum carried it past Ozpin. It tumbled to the street in pieces. The remaining two approached more carefully, coming from both sides at once. They should have overwhelmed the tiny human facing them. They didn't.

Ozpin somehow contrived to slip through a gap between them and, as they crashed together, he spun on his heel. The simple sword Ruby had been so disappointed with must have been ridiculously sharp for it sliced through the spine of the nearest Ursa with no resistance. The remaining Grimm backed off, casting glances at its two former pack mates and the man standing before it. The Ursa turned and fled. Ozpin continued his march into the city.

Now they were over Vale and could look down at the streets, Ruby saw more figures. Sometimes walking side by side, others solitary, all heading inwards. It would have been more surprising if she didn't know people who Semblances allowed them to clone themselves. Ozpin's must have been the same, but it was different.

Blake's clones were barely more than shadows and only lasted moments before disappearing. Sun's were better distinguished and he could actually control them, but he could only manage a few at a time. If Ozpin had simultaneously relieved everybody on the defensive perimeter, there must have been scores of his clones. There was also the look of them. While Sun's were a recognisable image, no one would mistake them for him. They were spectral, Ozpin's weren't.

From what Ruby could see most looked almost exactly like him. Some were identical. Others wore slightly different clothes: a different coloured scarf, a different shirt, different shoes. Some had a different haircut. But they were real enough. If they were in a room together, she wouldn't be able to tell them apart from the actual one.

It at least explained why they weren't going down to pick up the first one they saw. If it was just a clone it would just disappear, leaving the real Ozpin still in danger. They needed to wait until he revealed himself.

The gunfire coming from the industrial district ramped up in intensity. Some of the clones in the other, emptier sectors began to vanish. Unlike Sun's or Blake's clones they left behind no traces. One moment they were there, the next they were gone.

The battle was not going well for the White Fang. They may well have considered themselves a match for all the forces protecting Vale, but they were no match for what faced them.

It was shocking. Ozpin didn't fight like any other person that Ruby had seen. Or a person for that matter. He fought like an army. It shouldn't have been possible, for one person, even one with a Semblance like his, to do what he was doing, carving his way into an occupied city.

But Professor Ozpin didn't allow for such petty things as the distance to his next target to inconvenience him. The moment a squad of Knights trained their rifles on him, he disappeared, only to reappear instantly inside their formation.

The robots would then immediately try and engage him in melee combat. He didn't play by their rules. When they tried to parry his thin sword, it cut straight through their blades and into the bodies beyond. Ozpin might not have been as precise as he could have been, but he was the epitome of efficient movement. Every broad swing passed through multiple Knights. They fell in pieces to the floor, and before long every member of their formation had been defeated, but at least they stood.

The Faunus members of the White Fang didn't. Maybe it was because most weren't soldiers. Or maybe they were terrified at seeing the same man attacking them from multiple directions. Or maybe they just couldn't understand what they were seeing. But, whatever it was, they ran.

It only took a few of their number dropping to convince the rest to flee. It would have been better if Ozpin cut them down. At least some of the more battle-hardened Faunus could have understood that, but he didn't. Where his radiant white sword met flesh, it didn't cut, it didn't rend. It passed clean through it, leaving no mark. The only sign of its passage was the searing light which flared from the victim's eyes an instant before they collapsed.

Even the pilots of the Paladins were fleeing. In previous battles they’d felt safe surrounded by inches of composite armour. They’d felt powerful as they had smashed their way through any who had opposed them, and they had approached Ozpin with the same confidence. It was misplaced.

The first sign of trouble they encountered were the myriad of warning lights that flashed up on their HUDs before a blade pierced their cockpits. The lucky ones had hung back. They saw their enemy appear behind or even on top of their comrades, slice through the protective enclosures as though they weren't there, and leave the mechs in a heap on the ground. Those pilots had the chance to retreat.

For the most part Ozpin let them. He didn't seem intent on doing as much damage as possible, rather it seemed he was searching for something. Occasionally one of his clones would enter a building, only to exit moments later.

Ozpin may have been content to let his enemy run, but the instant they stood against him, they died. It was not a fight. It was a massacre. The members of the White Fang were children before him, entirely defenceless from his wrath. It was terrifying to behold. In the few short minutes since Ozpin had started to fight, he must have killed hundreds.

Ruby knew they had brought it on themselves. She knew they were only receiving what they had been happy to dish out, but it didn't help. Perhaps others would be able to rejoice in their deaths, but she couldn't. Even before she’d been forced to confront her created world, every death she’d witnessed had hurt because it had tested her boundaries. Somewhere she’d known that the world was forevermore losing something special.

Even the members of the White Fang. They would have had family, friends who would mourn them, people who would hurt when they didn't come home, and Ruby hurt with them. Blake had once been like them. She’d been a terrorist. Now she was one of the most loyal friends anyone could ask for. How many others whose corpses were slowly cooling off could have been her friend? Could have added so much to the world if it had just been resolved another way?

But by no means was she blameless. Looking down the sights of Crescent Rose, she’d been forced to make a choice between the people she knew and the one she didn't. Ruby didn't know the sniper, but she could still see his face. What had driven him to join the White Fang? Who would mourn his passing? Could he have been redeemed if she hadn't had killed him? All questions that would likely never have answers, and yet ones she had continued to obsess over.

If the only available avenue open to them was to murder in answer to murder, they’d already failed.

A flash of fire illuminated the sky, sending smoke spiralling upwards. All the clones near them abruptly vanished. To their south, in a wide open storage facility, an inferno raged. The blazing tempest swirled over the concrete. A firestorm that was over fifty feet in diameter feeding on everything inside of it. In its hunger it tore the oxygen from the surrounding air, stirring gale force winds into life.

The searing light was painful to look out. Even from hundreds of feet away, the heat was uncomfortable. The thermally resistant Knights surrounding it all fired inwards heedless of the temperature, but the few White Fang who’d not fled cowered away from it. All except one.

Wreathed in flames of her own that matched her crimson dress, a single woman faced it down. Raven hair whipped across her bare shoulders, and an exultant smile lit up her face. With her hand twitching in front of her, the firestorm raged on.

Most people thought fire was just the product of the conversion of energies. A simple reaction. It wasn't. On a scale this large, it was a living beast, writhing in its own agony. Its tongues lashed out, devouring anything they touched. Its lungs breathed in life and exhaled only death. Its claws ripped back and forth over the ground, until even the asphalt boiled.

The turbulent, scalding air rocked their aircraft. The White Fang who had been cowering next to the woman had taken refuge from the raging tempest in the buildings behind them, but not all had managed to make it.

The Knights built to survive an extreme range of temperatures fared little better. Their composite armour glowed, brilliant patterns showing the underlying network of fibres. Their rifles had melted, their ammunition exploding in its magazines. A few of the closest ones had dropped to the ground, their systems shut down.

The roaring winds feeding the beast caused it to spin. Chasing its own tail, the centrifugal forces sent ribbons of flames spiralling outwards. The tongues lashed through the amassed ranks of Knights, dropping more and licked the buildings, setting the few who had so far resisted the heat aflame.

The only thing untouched in its radius was the woman. The flames were her creation. They caressed their mother, but didn't harm her. They responded to the glowing adulation in her eyes, and the radiant smile on her lips.

The beast bucked in on itself. If it could have cried out it, would have. Its rotation ground to a halt, before it began spinning even faster than before. The woman's smile slipped from her face.

The size of the burning tempest began to diminish. From above it was as if the flames were being sucked down a drain in the middle of the clearing. As the intensity of the glare dropped, a red sphere became visible. The flames danced against its surface, before being consumed by it.

The retreating blaze exposed the ground underneath. It glowed orange, still spitting and bubbling. Dozens of sets of charred bones had sunk into it slightly. To be sufficient to melt concrete the heat inside the inferno must have been almost unimaginable, but something had survived it.

The red sphere glowed with incandescent light, as bright as the flames that had once surrounded it. If not more so. The crimson illuminated the pyromancer's aghast expression as her hand still twitched ineffectively in front of her.

Like a stage curtain, the sphere faded away from the bottom. Ozpin stood within, side on to the woman. His sword was held out horizontally at arm's length. The blade that had once been unmarred white, now blood red.

With a backhand swipe he swung his sword through an arc in front of him. It left a blazing hot, needle thin line in the air. The line rushed forwards, expanding, growing, until a wall of fire a storey high hurtled across the ground

It engulfed the pyromancer before continuing onwards. Flames weren't solid. They shouldn't have been able to impart force, but no one appeared to have told Ozpin that. The surge of fire struck the buildings behind like a bulldozer blade traveling at the speed of sound. Bricks screamed. Dozens of tonnes of material went flying through the air, smashing together, as an entire blocked was scoured to its foundations.

Ozpin staggered. The last traces of red leeched from his blade until it was as white as untouched snow. The singular front of his wrath had left flames hanging in the air but, just like before, a shape became discernible through them.

The pyromancer was crouched down, dress and eyes glowing, orange glyphs circling her. The ground around her was seared black and shredded, but within her defences it was untouched. She uncoiled herself. The attack that had levelled buildings had left her unscathed.

With a sudden movement she thrust her hand forward, palm outwards. A fireball roared into life, shooting across the gap between the two combatants. Spinning on his heel, Ozpin stepped out of its path and sliced through it with his sword.

The sphere collapsed in on itself, disappearing in an instant. The white of his blade, tinged with red. Not pausing in his spin, Ozpin thrust his weapon out. A crackling lance of crimson energy burst from its tip and flashed into the pyromancer, crossing the space between them in a heartbeat.

The woman was rocked back as she held her hands in a defensive gesture. Her Aura flared outwards in visible waves as Ozpin kept the attack up. A snarl twisted her face, and the bared skin of her shoulders became translucent as white flared from underneath it.

As the last vestiges of energy flew at her, she enclosed it in her hands and brought them to her heaving chest. Ozpin was little better. It was only strength of will that kept him from doubling over, but he was moving even before the pyromancer swung her hand out.

The concrete that had already been warped by the heat, glowed red. A column of molten rock erupted thirty feet into the sky. Deadly droplets sprayed off of it. As it reached its apex, it mushroomed outwards.

If the mass had reached the floor it would have engulfed everything nearby, including Ozpin, but bathed in the heat cascading off of it, red seeped into his blade once more. The entire column lurched. It arced over his head and plunged towards his opponent.

The impact alone would have killed her. The searing heat would have just made sure. She scrambled out of its way. The column burst when it hit the ground, sending a wave of liquid rock rolling into the basements of the destroyed buildings behind her. The pyromancer was off balance, but to stop was to die. She waved her hand back and forth and sent a quartet of crystals shooting outwards.

Ozpin almost seemed to move into the optimum position to dodge them before they were on their way. His sword sliced one cleanly in two as the rest stirred his clothes with their passing. Then it was his turn to attack.

High above them, still holding position, Ruby was in awe. All her life she’d idolised hunters. She loved watching the students fight in the Vytal tournament, and she’d had the privilege to see some truly great hunters fight in the flesh.

He uncle flowed through the battlefield, never letting the Grimm get close to him, always maintaining his momentum. Professor Oobleck had managed to defeat Paladins in a single blow; he had been an agent of destruction. Professor Goodwitch had done things that she’d thought impossible, all with elegant waves of her wand.

Seeing them in action had inevitably led to her comparing herself and her team against them. Though they were still a long way off, they were students after all, but she believed that one day they would be able to reach their level of combat proficiency and maybe even exceed it. She had thought that her team would be amongst the most powerful fighters on the planet.

She now knew how wrong she had been.

Between the combatants a duel should have been taking place. When two skilled fighters came head to head, with nothing else to distract them, it was the only logical outcome. The headmaster of Beacon and the pyromancer, did not duel.

When it came down to it, duels were one person pitting their skill up against another, trying to prove they were the best. Sometimes they could be brutal, if a fighter had more strength than skill, but more often than not, skill triumphed. Duels were almost delicate things.

There was nothing remotely delicate about the fight taking place below her. Skill was secondary to power. Power greater than anything she’d witnessed or imagined before. Power that was more at home in fantasied tales of the past than the real world. The woman's first attack had melted the concrete across the entire clearing. Ruby knew her Aura would have protected her for heartbeats at the most.

But Ozpin had risen from it seemingly unscathed. His counter attack had levelled an entire block, and they were just the opening strikes. There had been dozens of White Fang and hundreds of Knights in the clearing at the start of their fight. Neither Ozpin nor the woman had targeted them. It didn't matter. The proximity to the titanic outpouring of energy had been enough to destroy them as surely as it would have done had they been the focus of their venom.

They had only been the first accidental casualties. The buildings around the storage facility were razed as attacks were redirected and sent crashing through them. But despite the violence and sheer scale of the punches they were throwing at each other, none managed to get through their defences. It was not a duel. It was a slugging match of titanic proportions.

There was no quick exchange of blows. One would attack, and the other would have to put every effort into their attempts to withstand it. Attacks that would have defeated armies were shrugged off and returned with interest. Power ̶ ̶ orders of magnitude greater than anything she’d seen before ̶ ̶ may have been the most striking thing, but there was no lack of skill. Every attack was different. Every counter unique.

Roaring fireballs the size of cars were met halfway by more, the resultant conflagration bursting out in every direction. Gouts of almost liquid fire—that latched onto surfaces and burned fiercely—were bisected neatly, missing their targets. Slews of small balls of brilliantly intense light, no bigger than a fist, shot outwards as though fired from a machine gun. Those had to be dodged. When they missed, they carried on going, effortlessly burning their way through buildings and continuing on into the city unabated.

Pillars of compressed flame, half a foot wide and a dozen high, let out an increasingly high pitched whine until they burst from their confines. The explosion ripping forty foot wide craters in the concrete and sending shrapnel whistling through the air. Those had to be interrupted before they reached their crescendo, or the combatants would hunker down behind whatever shield they favoured and attempt to weather the danger.

Dazzling beams no wider than her finger flashed across the clearing, those had the strangest counter. Though where they missed they were able to slice walls in two, the combatants didn't try to dodge them. Instead they merely caught the unfeasibly concentrated energy in their hand and, using some Aura technique she didn't know, managed to make it vanish. Transforming it into white light that burst from intricate patterns just under their skin.

It was Dustcraft of level that she doubted anyone alive had witnessed before. The techniques they were using were not in any textbook she’d read, or tournament she’d watched. The things they were doing were impossible. They defied logic, and yet they were only making use of a single type of Dust. What on Remnant would they be capable of doing if they used all of them?

Another thing that didn't make sense was who the woman was. It was unmistakably the woman from the rooftop—her dress was too distinctive—but at the same time it wasn't. If she’d used even a fraction of the power she was using now, it would have blown straight through them and likely the building they were standing on.

An explanation as to why she had held herself back eluded her. Maybe it had just been so Ozpin wouldn't be alerted to her presence in Vale. They must be linked. It was too much of a coincidence that there was someone who was able to match his astonishing display of power and return it in kind.

It was awe inspiring to watch. Tearing her eyes away from it, it appeared everyone else was of the same opinion. Even Professor Goodwitch was slack jawed as she watched the man she-d known for decades unleash himself.

But it was taking its toll on both of them. After attacking both used the momentary rest bite to gather their strength. Ozpin had fought through an army to reach this point. He was barely able to keep to his feet. It was likely the reason why he had stopped using his clones. He was throwing everything into his attacks. It was working.

The woman's were dying down in intensity. Though they still would have overwhelmed anyone else in a heartbeat, they were not as ferocious as they’d been at the start, and there was more time between them.

Ozpin recognised this. As the pyromancer was still reacting to his latest assault, instead of gathering his strength, attempting to drag what little oxygen that hadn't been consumed by their fight into his lungs, he slashed his crimson sword in front of him.

The air around the woman burst into flame. It wasn't a detonation. There was no shockwave, but the force of the conflagration buffeted her. Ozpin did not let her recover. As soon as the intensity of the flames began to diminish, he swiped at her again and they roared back to life.

With rage twisting his face, Ozpin attacked again and again. His blade drew a frantic pattern as he struck with ever increasing frequency. The point where one began and the last one ended was indistinguishable.

Only one sound rose over the burning roars. The pyromancer screamed. As her glyphs were forced ever closer to her body, the heat leeching through them ever more acute. As her hair caught fire and her clothes burned. She cried out at the injustice of her impending defeat.

A spec of black appeared in the air just behind Ozpin. A spec of red quickly joined it. They multiplied, coalescing until they formed an undulating, spiralling, vertical disc ten feet in diameter. Two figures appeared from the ether as they leapt through it.

One was male, dressed in black and red, wearing a White Fang mask that was slightly different from usual. The other was a woman and far more terrifying. The masks of the White Fang where designed to remind people of the Grimm, this woman though, was one. Her full faced helm and plumage made her look like a Nevermore who had taken Faunus form.

Both wielded curved swords, still in their sheaths, but both had leapt through the portal with a full intention of attacking. The man was quicker than the Grimm woman, or maybe more eager for the kill, he rushed forward and slashed at Ozpin's undefended back.

He must have made a sound as he approached. His boot scuffing the ground or a heavy footfall and, as impossible as it seemed, Ozpin must have heard it over the fires and the screams.

They exchange of blows happened with such speed Ruby almost missed it. When the man's deep red blade encountered Ozpin's, the smaller cane sword sheared straight through it. Ozpin reversed his weapon's path and slashed at his adversary's elbow, before gravity had even begin to act on the remnants of his blade. The look of shock at his weapon's destruction turned to agony as Ozpin struck. As before it didn't cut his elbow, instead passing through it without leaving a mark. The limb dropped lifelessly to his side.

Ozpin's final attack would have ended his life, if not for the woman saving it. She leapt in, knocking him aside and slashed her ōdachi down in an overhead slice. Once again the smaller sword won out, like all hunters there was momentary surprise as her beloved weapon was proved inferior to another, but she recovered and danced out of range.

She appeared to sheath her broken blade, before she pulled a different coloured one clear. The woman was better than the man, or perhaps just more careful. Where it was possible she avoided putting her weapon in a position where it could be sliced in two, pulling back her attack where it was clear Ozpin was going to parry and trying again.

The man had recovered somewhat. Though his right arm still flapped limply, he used his left to work the trigger mechanism on his sheath which doubled up as a rifle. At his best, even without using Dust, Ozpin would have been more than a match for them. But he wasn't at his best. He’d fought his way through an army to get here, and had then engaged in battle that had levelled the city for multiple blocks in every direction.

Ozpin's fatigue was visible in every movement. Professor Goodwitch leapt from the aircraft. It was somewhat a surprise. Mainly due to the fact they were still well over a hundred feet in the air. But though she must have felt as impotent as any of them watching that fight, swords she could handle.

They all had their preferred landing strategies, but most would have been very unlikely to work from this height, especially as they were falling onto open ground. The Professor's did. She plummeted downwards, head first and moments before impact, waved her wand. The ground cracked in a circle around her landing point, her momentum spread out over a much larger area.

She didn't waste any time getting involved. Chunks of concrete were ripped from beneath her and she sent them hurtling at the man. He might have been able to dodge one or two, but the swarm of projectiles belittled his efforts and they smashed into his body. At any other time it would have been a mightily impressive display of strength. With a single attack she had sent perhaps a tonne of material into the air. But after what Ruby had just seen, it only served to highlight the enormous difference between one of the best hunters in the world, and whatever Ozpin and the pyromancer were.

At the sight of the new adversary, the other woman backed out of Ozpin's range, bringing her now violet sword into a guard position across her chest. Her reaction differed from Ozpin.

For the first time today he looked off balance. For everything else that had happened, he had a contingency. Almost as if he had predicted what would happen before it occurred. He’d reacted to the almost impossible portal and his new opponents instantly, but he was unable to take the appearance of his headmistress in his stride.

For a momentary heartbeat they locked eyes. In that instant Ozpin must have known that he wasn't alone. That no matter where he was, what trouble he was in, Glynda would always be by his side. And perhaps she found some understanding in the gaze. Some reason why he hadn't told her about himself. And perhaps they made a promise to one another to start afresh. To be more honest and actually talk through their problems. It was in impossible moments like that, that the longest lasting relationships are born.

Ozpin began to turn just as a fireball struck him, the conflagration wrapping around his body in a heated embrace. It was fleabite compared to what he had previously endured. It wasn't hot enough to vaporize brick. It didn't have the force to throw chunks of rock hundreds of feet in the air. But with his attention caught momentarily by Glynda, he’d not prepared for it. The fleabite got through.

It sent him tumbling to the ground, his clothes igniting and his limp body rolled over, and came to rest at Glynda's feet. Most people would have frozen when placed in this scenario, seeing one of their old friends downed in front of them, the person who they had come to save, but Glynda was not most people. For a moment she stared downwards with horror, before she confronted adversary with brisk efficiency.

The flames were ripped from his clothes with a wave of her wand, their heat dissipating in the air. With Ozpin out of immediate danger, she stepped over his prone form and started towards the ones who were responsible for this.

The woman may have been wearing a Grimm mask. She may have designed it so her appearance cast terror into the hearts of those who looked upon her, but upon seeing the visage plastered across the headmistress of Beacon's face, her own haughty confidence vanished.

That was not the expression of someone who intended to fight by the rules, but someone intent on doing as much damage as possible in the shortest space of time. It took one look at her expression for the woman to decide that this was not a battle that would fall in her favour. The unconscious man vanished as a red and black portal appeared under him and the woman dived through it just as it was zipping closed.

Some might have been disappointed as their retribution was stolen from them, but Glynda only had eyes for another. The pyromancer was huddled over on her knees, her raven hair burned close to her scalp, a single breast hanging free of its confines, her dress in tatters. But all the expanses of milky white flesh visible through it shared one thing in common, they were unmarked. Though she looked entirely spent, she managed to raise her head to look at Ozpin's body, and there was a triumphant smile on her face.

That more than anything enraged Glynda. That someone would rejoice after causing such harm to so many people, insulted her very existence. The ground around her feet shattered, rising up in splinters to surround her, before they shot forwards.

The pyromancer threw one pitiful fireball in response, the first few projectiles passed through it, their surfaces heated but otherwise structurally sound before the fire dissipated. Flickering orange glyphs surrounded her as she tried to roll out of the way.

A portal swallowed Glynda's attack, the chunks of rock entered it and were transported somewhere else. The Grimm leapt from the opposite side to Glynda, hauled the pyromancer's limp body onto her shoulder, and disappeared through it in the space of a few heartbeats. The portal collapsed back in on itself.

Glynda cast around, searching for where they could possibly have gone. If she was furious that they’d managed to escape her, it didn't show in her movements. After a few seconds when she was confident they were not planning to renew their attack, she rushed back over to her headmaster.

It was with some relief for everyone in their aircraft, that Professor Goodwitch didn't leave the body untouched, but set about straight away performing the initial stages of first aid. She waved the hovering aircraft down.

They’d only been descending for a few seconds when a singular sound reached them even over the engines. It was as if a countless multitude of individual impacts had morphed into one. It reminded Ruby of parades where individuals reacted as a whole to an order to march. More impacts followed, not as loud as the first, but much more frequent and they rose to a never ceasing crescendo.

"Get us down there!" Professor Port roared to the pilot.

Her heart stopped in her chest. In unending torrents what seemed to be every single Knight in Vale was sprinting towards the clearing. Thousands upon thousands of them. They swarmed down the roads, covering every inch of asphalt as far as she could see.

Her stomach fell away as the Bullhead plummeted downwards. As late as possible the pilot halted their descent. The stresses caused by the sudden deceleration sent shudders through the airframe.

Ruby leapt from the Bullhead, even as it came under fire from the first Knights to arrive. Bullets zipped past her, pinging from the craft's armour and the pilot had to make a decision. They were only too aware of what had happened to the majority of the Bullheads in Vale. Instead of trying to gain altitude, he decided to land.

Those who had already jumped had to scramble out of the way as its shadow grew larger, but none begrudged the pilot. It was their ticket out of their after all. Professor Goodwitch was already tearing up the floor and building a primitive shield for it.

The other Bullhead decided to go up. It took an agonizing amount of time for it to pick up speed. Time that the Knights made good use of. One of its engines belched fire and smoke and, as the other tried to compensate for the loss of thrust, the aircraft went into a flat spin.

The few members of the faculty who remained were flung out of the open doors by the centrifugal forces. The Bullhead itself slammed into the ground. It was not a pleasant landing, but the majority of its structure remained more or less intact, though it had definitely been rendered non-functioning.

"Everyone form a perimeter around the dropships! Do not let them get hit!" Erashan shouted, trying to make himself heard over the sounds of battle.

The SDC troops had already landed and the majority were spreading out. A number of groups had broken away and were heading to the teachers who’d been thrown clear of the crashed ship or the Bullhead itself.

The sleek SDC aircraft had not descended. They hovered above and rained destruction down on the Knights who fired at them. Cascades of rockets ripped into their formations, shaking the ground as they detonated, Gatling guns emerged from hidden ports and attempted to drown out all the other noises as hundreds of casings fell on those under them every second.

But for every Knight they destroyed, two arrived. Once more, most of team RWBY had been stunned into inaction by the sudden, ferocious combat that had sprung to life around them. They were just teenagers. Even everything that they had been through could not have prepared them for this. To be able to react without thought, instantly at the start of combat, was a skill that took an age to learn. Luckily for them, one of their team had earned that skill.

"Move it!" Blake shouted, startling them. "Weiss help them establish the perimeter. Ruby, Yang, starting shooting!"

Blake didn't wait for them to respond but ran forward, still limping. It didn't matter what direction she picked, the Knights were pouring into the clearing from every entrance. She dropped to the floor next to some SDC troops, shouldered her captured rifle, and began firing as fast as she could cycle the bolt.

Her words snapped the rest of them out of their trances. It also made them aware of the thousands of rounds that were whistling though the air as the Knights shot at them even as they sprinted forwards, achieving accuracy that would be impossible for people. Yang cursed as one glanced off the Aura over her shoulder and that was enough to make them all duck.

All around them, anyone with an affinity for Dust attempted to craft makeshift barriers to protect them from the unending barrage of fire. Spires of stone rose into the air, intricate lattices of ice, layered over and over again which were chipped and shattered and constantly renewed. One of the SDC soldiers was standing behind an emerald cloud, which didn't stop the bullets, but they emerged broken down into small grains of metal, each of which lacked the momentum of the whole.

The SDC airships dropped into the shelter. Velvet stood alone just behind the perimeter, her hand twitching. In an instant a stone and ice wall erupted from the ground, a dozen feet high and half that thick, shielding a full third of the circle. The Faunus collapsed, her head bouncing sickeningly from the ground. Coco could only spare her a glance, as she leapt through the back door of one of the SDC aircraft.

Ruby sprinted towards Blake and risked using the tiniest bit of her Semblance. Even with her slightly increased reactions, she wasn't able to dodge all the bullets flying at her. They didn't come one by one, but came in an angry swarm. There hadn't been enough time for her to recover even a fraction of her Aura from the battle earlier and each round came closer and closer to penetrating it. Luckily the Knights were still firing from well beyond the optimal range for their rifles. She dived into the uncomfortably warm crater Blake was sheltering in and immediately started shooting.

Weiss inspired by the actions of the others, waved her hand at where her teammates had hunkered down. They and those around them were taking a terrible toll on the approaching masses, but it was nowhere near enough, and the Knights responded in kind.

White glyphs appeared in front of her teammates forming an impossibly hard barrier. It took only moments for the defenders to readjust and they poked their weapons through the holes where the circles didn't meet and continued firing. Weiss dropped to her knee at the effort of maintaining them as hundreds of rounds mushroomed on their surface a second.

Though they’d been in many engagements over the past thirty six hours, Ruby knew without a doubt this was the largest. Where Professor Ozpin's fight had been staggering because of the size of the attacks, this was staggering because of the sheer scale of the numbers involved.

There were thousands of Knights crowding the clearing, not closing where they would only hinder each other, but standing in ranks, firing inwards. Though her shoulder was aching, and her feet were surrounded by spent magazines, it seemed that they were having no effect on their numbers.

Someone tapped her shoulder. It was one of the SDC troops, she guessed they were shouting something, but she was unable to hear them. The soldier's faceplate became transparent and she read his lips even as he shoved her back towards the aircraft.

Everyone was starting to retreat to the dropships. The SDC troops fell back in good order, still firing where the opportunity presented itself, slowly constricting the perimeter. The teachers of Beacon had come out of this worse. They left the defence to the professional soldiers while they dragged their wounded colleagues.

For most of them, the vitality of youth was but a distant memory, and many of them had not fought for years before yesterday. Some had never been strong hunters, but had desired to help the next generation become one.

But still, when Professor Goodwitch had asked for their help, they’d given it. And it had cost some of them. Professor Port was helping Professor Oobleck limp along with one hand whilst still unleashing his blunderbuss with right. Yatsuhashi carried Velvet over one shoulder and a third year teacher over the other.

Without the perimeter defences being actively renewed, rounds started to carve holes through them. Soon bullets were pinging from the armour of the SDC troops or testing the Aura's of those who went unprotected.

RWBY still had protection from Weiss' glyphs, but Ruby could she could see the toll they were taking on her. Weiss was slumped down, panting heavily with her eyes screwed up with the strain.

There wasn't time to do anything else, Ruby grabbed her under the shoulder and half helped, half dragged her backwards. Without the SDC troops here, there was no way they could have enacted this rescue. They were pouring out fire in every direction and where the barriers had failed, they were standing up, taking hits on their armour so others didn't have to. But even they were dragging some of their number back towards the aircraft.

The glyphs shielding them abruptly vanished. They all had a brief sight of thousands of rifles pointing straight at them before the barrage Weiss had been blocking hit them. Three rapid impacts to Ruby's chest knocked stole the air from her lungs and knocked her down.

Struggling to breathe, a hand-stitched leather boot planted itself resolutely next to her head. Armageddon broke loose. Reine de Beauté spat hundreds of rounds down range, their armour-piercing heads tearing through multiple Knights and dropping dozens a second. Coco raked her weapon back and forth over their formations and bought them a temporary respite.

Ruby was showered by burning hot cartridges and scrambled out of their way before Yang hauled her up. There was blood flowing down her leg, but Yang seemed to be ignoring any wound. All so she could get her sister to safety.

With Blake having taken over helping Weiss, they continued to fall back. Coco covered their retreat. They'd almost made it to the Bullhead when Ruby spied an ornate silver cylinder sticking out of the ground. She wrapped her hand around it.

It was as she had suspected. The crystal white of Ozpin's blade withdrew easily from where it had sunk into the concrete. It was light. A lot lighter than any metal would have been, and it almost seemed to hum under her hand.

Professor Goodwitch was waiting for them by the entrance to the Bullhead, though she was by no means idle. Squads of Knights were flicked into the air with every wave of her wand. The fall probably wouldn't kill them, but it would at least take them from the fight.

Inside it was cramped, not only did they have to distribute the ones who had come on the crashed aircraft across the others, but many of the forms were prostrate in varying degrees of discomfort. Ozpin was right at the back, the glow from under his skin illuminating the cabin slightly. There was only space for them right near the door. Blake helped Weiss into the nearest seat before turning to Yang's leg.

Intending to draw Crescent Rose, Ruby threw Ozpin's sword onto the floor. She quickly snatched it up again. The blade had passed through the metal as though it wasn't there, and was only stopped from dropping completely through the aircraft by its hilt.

Only Coco and Glynda were left outside, on opposite sides of the aircraft. Coco, still sweeping her weapon side to side, backed off until she felt her thighs hit the doorway, then sat down, continuing to fire.

With everyone else on board, Glynda ran towards them. Standing by the door Ruby had a perfect view of her face. Though there was worry and guilt, there was also triumph.

Blood burst from her chest. Her wand fell from her hand. Crimson erupted from her side. Her step faltered. Bone splintered from her arm.

It shouldn't have happened. Someone as strong as Professor Goodwitch should have been able to withstand the impacts. But perhaps she already had, or maybe she had drained her Aura attempting to protect everyone she put in danger. Regardless, the outcome was the same. As hundreds of rounds zipped by, the headmistress of Beacon fell.

With agility that belied his larger frame Professor Port leapt down to the ground and caught her in his arms as she stumbled forwards. He roared his defiance as bullets hit him, but he clutched her to his body and shielded her as he ran back to them. The moment his boots re-entered the Bullhead, it lurched under them.

The two SDC craft had taken off before them. They hovered above, unleashing all their munitions into the massed ranks, the soldiers shooting out of the open doorways, the mounted weapons opening up. They managed to draw the majority of the fire away from the more vulnerable Bullhead and though bullets chipped away at their stealth coating, the armour underneath held.

Ruby wasn't really aware of that. Her eyes were fixed on Professor Goodwitch. She was lying immobile where Professor Port had placed her, blood pouring from multiple sources as he and some of the other teachers, desperately tried to stabilise her.

And as Ruby looked at her, she didn't really feel anything. Forty eight hours ago, the thought of someone being hurt had been so difficult for her to cope with, she just hadn't. She’d always done her best to pretend it hadn't happened.

But it had been a childish thing to cling to. Everything had happened had forced her to bend away from her conjured world, until eventually she’d reached a point where she had broken. That had been when Jaune passed from this existence.

Staring at Professor Goodwitch, she knew that though she should have been feeling something, but she’d just reached a point where she couldn't take it anymore. What was one more death on the mountain of corpses in Vale?

Weiss slipped from her seat.

Ruby may not have been able to feel anything for her teacher, but for Weiss, she felt. She felt terror. With the Ozpin’s sword still in her hand, she dropped to her knees and shook her. Weiss' head flopped limply, and her skin was the colour of ivory.

"Weiss!" she cried out.

That attracted the attention of those around her. Blake broke from where she was wrapping a bandage around Yang's upper thigh and rushed over. Ruby knew she should have been doing something. They’d all taken classes in first aid, but through her fear, she couldn't find a single remnant of them.

"Weiss… please… wake up… Weiss… please… please." Tears had started flowing down her face.

With her free hand, she caressed Weiss' ice cold face. As if her touch might wake the princess from her slumber. But Weiss wasn't a princess, and she wasn't sleeping. When someone roughly rolled Weiss onto her front, Ruby half swung at them with Ozpin's sword, furious that they would dare handle her with so little care. Thankfully Yang caught her wrist and twisted the impossibly sharp blade from her grasp.

A crimson flower had blossomed on the back of Weiss' dress. Blake stuck her fingers in the middle of it and ripped the wet material apart. It was so small. The hole. Barely the size of her fingernail. And yet _Weiss_ leaked out of it and onto the dirty floor.

"Don't do this to me Weiss. Come on… please, wake up… please…" She wasn't cognisant of what she was saying. She just wanted this nightmare to end.

Something that small, shouldn't have hurt, it shouldn't have. Weiss was the strongest person she knew. She would never give up. Not because of something as small as that. And yet Weiss' hand remained limp and cold in both of her own.

"Please, please, don't do this. Please god…"

Both Blake and Oobleck, who had rushed over despite his own wounds, were doing something, but she couldn't tell what. She couldn't think, couldn't breathe. As Weiss' blood began to stain her knees, she could only contemplate who she was losing.

The person who made everything right. Who filled her thoughts when they were in the same room, and consumed her entire being with longing when they were apart. The person who helped her in so many ways. Who was always there for her. The person who had kissed her. And the person who had stolen her heart.

"No, no, no, please… I love you Weiss… please don't leave me alone. Not again… Please..."

But there was no response to her declaration from Weiss; she was in a place where she couldn't hear it. It might have been Yang who was wrapping her arms around her, trying to give her comfort, but she didn't care. It didn't help. She’d thought her heart was full of grief. So full there was no more room. How wrong she had been.

Someone pulled her hands from Weiss' and thrust a piece of clothing into them.

"Ruby look at me!" Oobleck demanded her attention. "I need you to put pressure on the wound. Hold this there and keep pressing down. Ruby! Listen to me, she's going to be fine, but I need you to do this." He pulled her hands onto the wound. "Press down!"

Ruby was still trying to process what he told her. _Going to be fine._ She was dimly aware of Blake desperately shouting something about blood and Oobleck getting up, but that didn't matter. _Weiss_. _Her Weiss. Was going to be fine._ _Oobleck had said so._ But the cloth under her hand began to get damp and warm. _It was fine. He’d said so._ So she kept on pressing down.

It was a gross betrayal to take her eyes off of Weiss, but it hurt too much. Hurt too much to see her so still, when even in sleep she was full of poise, of life. Instead Ruby looked out the doorway, at Vale. Her home. Her home that was burning. Ozpin's fight had left almost an entire sector ablaze, thick black plumes rising upwards in the still air, joining others that still hadn't abated from the day before.

It seemed so long ago when her worries had been handing in homework on time, and wondering if people liked her. It was so childish, and yet so good. Her life had been so carefree, the weeks had seemed to fly from one to the next. She’d never had to see people die. Press on her love's wound and pray for someone to save her. Never had to kill.

She’d watched as her bullet struck the sniper's cheek. The one thing she had always so hard to avoid. There was enough evil in the world without her adding to it. That's not what huntresses were meant to do. Not why she chose this life. It's not what her mum would have done.

And yet she had, and within a few hours one of the most precious things in the world to her was slipping through her fingers. She’d crossed a line and there was no way back. She would have to live with the guilt for the rest of her life. And she would have to live with the guilt if Weiss…

It couldn't happen. She needed Weiss. They all did. There was no way this was over. Vale in the hands of the White Fang. Whatever Ozpin and that woman were. The world was changing around them. Would continue to change as all the different pieces realigned. Something big was happening, bigger than just Vale, much bigger than the White Fang, much bigger than her or her friends. And it terrified her. She needed Weiss by her side. She needed her strength. Her love. She couldn't be alone again.

Ruby looked back with tear-filled eyes at the burning city. Just forty eight hours ago she’d been a child. A child who was taking the first steps to adulthood by exploring her relationship with Weiss. But a child in so many other ways. After what she had seen. What she had done. What the world was now. And what it would require her to be. She knew she was a child no longer. The relative solitude and peace she had grown up in was gone. It saddened her that she might never experience it again, and that no other children might ever know the privilege of growing up in it.

As she watched the city grow smaller and felt the damp warmth of Weiss under her hand. Ruby Rose knew that her life had changed forevermore and she mourned, as her innocence burned on the fires of Vale.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Wow, there it is, the first line I wrote and the one that inspired me to write this book. It has been a journey, I never expected it to be even half this long and I can only thank you for sticking with it through 200k words. This is my very first literary outing and I would have been happy if just one person read it, so to see so many people reading the new chapter every week and getting so much positive feedback has been incredible. I want to thank each and every one of you.
> 
> I mentioned it in the very first author's note but one of the things I wanted to do was to really up the consequences of RWBY. 'Breach' left a very sour taste in my mouth as Glynda came in and fixed everything with a wave of her wand. I felt that Volume 2 didn't live up to 'Time to Say Goodbye' at all. I hope that this did.
> 
> I tried my best to explain many of the plot holes I saw in the show as well as expand and give it my own flavour while really upping the stakes. The world of Remnant is not a nice place and yet the beauty in it, is all the more special because of it. Friendship, trust, comradeship, sacrifice, love, are all things that should be cherished and are too often sadly looked over in view of personal gain.
> 
> The first chapter of the sequel Vengeance will be posted next week, though if you want to read it straight away chapters have already been posted to fanfiction.net.
> 
> Anyway I would like to thank you again, for sticking with me through so many highs and unimaginable lows. If I have made just one person feel something, then I know I have done my job.
> 
> The Last Sonata signing off.


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